Chapter 268

Ai Haibara lowered her head, but she could still feel Saiki Usui walking up to her.

Even though he had entered the room earlier than them, when Usuha Saiki approached, it felt as if a chill of wind and snow enveloped him.

"What's wrong?" Usaku Saiki asked gently.

But Ai Haibara keenly sensed a strange scrutiny... It wasn't aggressive, but it certainly didn't match the gentleness in her tone.

"Y-because what you said is too scary! She's a girl, and all that stuff about men in black is like something out of a horror movie. It's normal for her to be scared."

Conan Edogawa chuckled awkwardly and tried to smooth things over, standing in front of Ai Haibara, who seemed to have temporarily lost her composure due to psychological trauma, and blocking Usui Saiki.

It's clear that Yukiko Kudo didn't inherit much of his acting skills. Conan Edogawa awkwardly said, "Um, don't you have a date? Is it okay if you don't leave now?"

Usakabe Saiki didn't step forward again, her tone returning to its cheerful tone: "Yeah, anyway, you guys be careful, and Professor Agasa shouldn't stay up too late, take care of your health... I'm off now! Bye~"

Professor Agasa waved kindly, watching Usui Saiki flutter out the door like a butterfly, and then closed the door for them.

"That boy, Usoha-kun... just seeing him makes me happy," Dr. Agasa remarked.

Conan Edogawa commented, "It means he doesn't have any work pressure. Generally speaking, people his age are already corporate slaves and wouldn't be this relaxed normally."

After making his rant, Conan Edogawa turned around and saw that Ai Haibara was still looking down. Conan asked worriedly, "Haibara? Are you alright? Maybe you should take some time off."

“…That’s not the problem.” Ai Haibara regained her composure and frowned.

She felt that Usakabe Saiki gave her a somewhat subtle feeling, but it didn't seem like it was worth mentioning. Moreover, she couldn't explain why it was subtle, so she simply skipped the topic.

“Gin and vodka appearing around here... could they be after me?” At this point, she couldn’t help but hug her arms tightly again, a little nervously.

Conan Edogawa thought for a moment: "Probably not. After all, Bo Ye watched them drive away, and he walked over himself and even went back to my house. If Gin and the others knew you were here, they would have arrived long ago. Maybe they were just passing by and had something to do nearby."

Conan Edogawa needs to rely on guessing, but Saiki Usaku doesn't.

When Vermouth asked him to go out for dinner, he casually told Usaku Saiki about the mission while driving, without giving any thought to secrecy.

“At tomorrow’s memorial service, Pisco is going to assassinate a politician, and just to be on the safe side, he specifically asked me to help him,” Vermouth said. “Just to be on the safe side, Gin plans to bring Vodka nearby, so he can finish the job if things go wrong.”

Usakabe Saiki expressed his doubts: "Is Gin such a cautious person? I think he makes quite a few mistakes! Sherry, whom he handcuffed himself, has disappeared!"

"It's because of Sherry's disappearance that he lost face so much, so this mission absolutely cannot fail." Vermouth has always taken a schadenfreude attitude towards Gin's misfortunes.

Usoppei hesitated, "Tomorrow... but I feel like things are more likely to go wrong if Gin is around. Maybe I should call someone else; it'll be safer."

Vermouth, who was driving, glanced at him sideways, somewhat speechless, but couldn't help but widen her smile: "Want to see Gin make a fool of himself again?"

"I suppose so," said Bo Yezaiji confidently. "Don't you want to?"

Vermouth pretended to think for a moment and said, "I'd like to too. Anyway, I'll be there tomorrow, so I can livestream any exciting moments to you."

“Vermouth is the best!” Saiki Usopp cheered. “Then I’ll ask who’s free.”

As he spoke, Bo Yezaki opened the group chat for the "Anti-Gin Squad".

Potts: [Gin has a mission tomorrow, and I bet he's up to something. Anyone free?]

Bourbon: [What mission is it?]

Potnis: [I don't know. After all, I always follow the organization's rules and never pry. I just know he has a mission.]

Bourbon: [...]

Scotland: [If you don't know anything, what are you looking for?]

Potts: [Keep an eye on Gin.]

Scotland:【……】

Chianti: [Me! I'm free! My sniper rifle is itching for a shot! But after I killed Miyano Akemi last time, Gin told me not to fire without his orders.]

Potnis: [Last time you said he didn't shoot Miyano Akemi for a long time, so you helped him, and Vodka was still making excuses... Fine, I won't shoot if I don't tell you to. This time you bring a video camera.]

Chianti: [Huh? Is that okay?]

Potnis: [It's alright. If he's okay, he definitely won't mind you recording. Destroy it once the mission is complete, and if the mission fails, the recording will be evidence! I want to see just how accurate Gin's gun really is...tsk. But we still need to keep this from him. Wait for my news, I'll inquire further. Anyway, make sure you have tomorrow afternoon free.]

Chianti: [Okay, I'll do as you say.]

Bourbon silently looked at the group chat history. Although he didn't know what Gin's mission was tomorrow, he felt that Gin was going to be in trouble.

And Chianti is practically completely subservient to Usui Saiki. Usui Saiki himself is quite capable of causing trouble, but he lacks the ability to act on it. With Chianti's influence... is this really going to be a problem...?

He didn't particularly hope the organization would improve; his main concern was that the aftermath of Bo Yezhaiji's actions would affect him!

Regardless of how speechless Bourbon and Scotland were looking at the chat logs, Chianti was definitely looking forward to it.

She felt that hanging out with Usakata Saiki was significantly more interesting than hanging out with other people.

The organization's mission is simply to snipe and kill, and after so many years, it's been pretty much the same old thing. But when Usui asks her for help, it's always a lot of fun—she really enjoys calling Gin an undercover agent in front of him!

To prepare for the next day, Chianti even went out and bought a handheld video recorder with the best technology available at the time, even though the organization wouldn't reimburse her for it, she was still very enthusiastic.

Usoya Saiki stopped Gin halfway on the second day.

"You're going to that memorial service, right?" Bo Ye Saiki said rudely. "I'm looking for Vermouth. Can you give me a ride? I'm under that overpass behind you. I just saw your car drive by."

Vodka, as usual, turned on speakerphone: "Um, we have something to do..."

"What can't you even give me a ride? We can definitely turn back now!" Bo Yezaki asked suspiciously. "Are you going to meet with the FBI?"

Vodka was speechless: "No way! There really is a mission!"

Just as he was about to continue explaining, he suddenly noticed that Gin, who was driving, had turned around abruptly.

Vodka exclaimed in surprise: "Big brother?!"

Gin said coldly, "He's pretending to be stupid. Vermouth must have told him everything."

He had long noticed that Vermouth doted on this little brat. Since Usopp Saiki knew where Vermouth was, Vermouth must have told him that she had a mission, and might even have told him the details of the mission!

Since Bo Yezhai dared to interfere with his mission so openly, he would most likely have reported it to the Boss. If he doesn't turn back now, it will be even more troublesome once Bo Yezhai brings up the Boss!

"Oh, we've been found out." Upon hearing Gin's voice, Usui admitted it as expected. "Gin is really smart, but why haven't you found Sherry yet? Was her disappearance really orchestrated by you?"

Gin's grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, but he quickly relaxed, even letting out a cold laugh: "Then you'll be disappointed."

Bo Ye arrived just in time; he had only just discovered Shirley's whereabouts today.

"Hmm? It sounds like you've made a discovery?" Usakata asked curiously.

Vodka seemed to be thinking about something, and hesitated to speak.

Gin, focused on driving, didn't notice Vodka's expression and simply snorted, "I already know where Sherry is."

"...Get out of Beika Town, you riddle teller!" Usakawa Saiki said coldly. "Vodka, you tell us, how did he find Sherry?"

Vodka stammered, "Uh, my brother and I left for a bit, and when we came back we found a bug in the car, and a hair. My brother said it was Sherry's hair..."

Usaku Saiki: "...Huh? Seriously? You can tell just by a single hair?"

Vodka: "Really."

“…Gin, you’re really a pervert.” Saiki Usaba said sincerely, “I see your car, stop for a moment.”

Gin waited coldly until Usui Saiki got into the car, then warned him, "You are not allowed to interfere with this mission, do you hear me?"

His relationship with Bo Yezhaiji had always been bad. He used to dislike talking in front of Bo Yezhaiji, but since he had a mission this time, he felt it was necessary to give him a warning to prevent Bo Yezhaiji from causing him trouble again.

“Okay, I’ll watch.” Bo Yezhai readily agreed.

Seeing how obedient Usaku Saiki was, Gin's alarm bells went off, and his vigilance instantly reached its peak. He strongly suspected that Usaku Saiki was planning something big.

"You're not allowed to tell anyone else to interfere. If there's a problem, you have the Boss order me around."

Bo Yezaki: "Okay, the others can only watch."

Gin glanced at Usuiba Saiki in the rearview mirror, feeling his suspicions almost overflowing, but he couldn't figure out what Usuiba Saiki was up to. He had already warned everyone he could, even bringing up the Boss...

...In the rearview mirror, Usakabe Saiki was just typing away, and nothing could be seen.

A moment later, Vodka felt his phone vibrate.

He paused for a few seconds, then took out his phone and checked the email.

It was indeed from Usaku Saiki.

This behavior—being in the same car but not communicating with him directly, instead secretly sending him emails—made Vodka feel very uneasy. He knew without a doubt that it wasn't anything good!

Even Vodka could vaguely guess what Usoya Saiki wanted to say.

Vodka glanced at it discreetly and, seeing that Gin was driving and not paying attention to him, couldn't resist clicking on it.

[You really believe Gin can recognize Sherry from a single hair? Choose between him being a psychopath or faking it all.]