Chapter 350

"Um?"

Usakabe Saiki said in a relaxed and casual tone, "You're Judy, right?"

He had just noticed Judy's name hovering around him on the [Universal Navigation] app, so he was now asking a question he already knew the answer to.

But Judy herself didn't know that, so when she heard her own name come out of Usui Saiki's mouth, she was momentarily horrified.

When she saw Usui Saiki on the street, she was actually just a little suspicious, because Shuichi Akai hadn't been able to get a photo of Potts; he had only drawn a sketch, but the capture of the expression was quite good. As Judy walked down the street, she immediately felt that the other person looked a lot like that sketch.

So she followed instinctively and easily spotted the keyword "Shuichi Akai" on the somewhat noisy street.

Upon hearing the name, coupled with the expression that resembled the sketch, and the clothing style that perfectly matched Shuichi Akai's description, Jodie immediately recognized the person.

Shuichi Akai once said that Potts' situation was rather delicate and that he would try to win him over, but after Shuichi Akai's death, only a few people knew about Potts' situation to begin with, and now they have completely lost all means of contact.

Judy's initial intention after seeing Potness was to follow him, hear what the organization members had to say about Shuichi Akai, and then try to establish contact... Otherwise, with Shuichi Akai, who knew the organization best, dead, their investigation would have reached a dead end.

As a result, she quietly followed him into the alley and soon heard the words, "Shuichi Akai is indeed dead."

Judy, who had initially intended to strike up a conversation, was immediately enraged by the nonchalant tone—Shuichi Akai had said he wanted to win over Potts, even concealing Potts' existence and most of the information from his FBI colleagues, and now that Shuichi Akai was dead, this was Potts' attitude?!

Rationally, Judy knew that Potts and Shuichi Akai had different stances, and that he didn't need to be saddened by Shuichi Akai's death. But emotionally, Judy felt that Shuichi Akai had been wronged.

Since the other party has already adopted this attitude, and is clearly not someone who can be won over, then there's no point in trying to appease them; let's just use force to take them away for interrogation.

This led to the scene where Judy tried to threaten Saiki Usaba with a gun to force him to submit.

But she only said one sentence, how could her identity be discovered?! Could Potts really recognize his own voice?!

Could it be that when he helped Shuichi Akai escape from the organization and they were sniping along the way, he said something when he answered the phone that made Bortennis remember his voice? Does he have such a good memory?

Judy was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a moment, and could only grip the gun in her hand tightly.

"Alright, don't be nervous. I saw you a long time ago. Otherwise, why do you think I would have come here?" Usakabe Saiki's tone remained relaxed. "I know what you want to ask: Akai Shuichi is not dead."

Judy: "...?!?!?!"

She paused for a moment, then immediately retorted, "No, impossible! You just said he was definitely dead!"

Although she said this and believed it was a tactic by Potts to sway her, words have power, and even though she knew she couldn't trust him, a glimmer of hope still rose in Judy's heart.

"What exactly happened?" She pressed the gun against Usakata Saiki, trying to recall her FBI training and trying to make her tone calm and rational rather than anxious... Unfortunately, her first reaction had already said everything, and her attempts to restrain herself didn't work very well.

Usakabe Saiki rolled his eyes: "What else could it be? That was a call from someone in the organization. Am I supposed to tell them, 'Yes, Shuichi Akai didn't die. He faked his death with the CIA mole Kir?'"

Judy: "…………"

It actually makes a lot of sense, but she won't be easily fooled!

“But the fingerprints on the body match, and…” Judy’s thoughts were a bit jumbled. She felt the autopsy results were correct, but she also hoped that Shuichi Akai was indeed not dead. “Anyway, what evidence do you have? What if this is just an excuse for you to escape?”

Given the high level of suspicion Judy had raised, Usakabe Saiki was willing to stay with her a little longer.

“If I wanted to escape, I wouldn’t have come this way in the first place,” Bo Yezaki said shamelessly. “As for evidence, your superior James knows about his faked death. You can call and ask him.”

Judy was startled again.

Even her boss, James, knows this. Just how far has Potts' intelligence network progressed?

So, James's reaction after learning of Shuichi Akai's death was indeed a bit strange, especially if a phone call could have confirmed it...

Judy hesitated for a moment, then continued to point the gun at Saiki Usaba with one hand, and took out her phone with the other to dial James's number.

“By the way,” Bo Ye Zaiji reminded her, “Don’t mention me. I don’t trust the FBI. If you dare to say a word about me, I will never work with Shuichi Akai again.”

Upon hearing this, the system couldn't help but complain: "But you've never actually worked together... It's all just Shuichi Akai unilaterally interpreting your thoughts..."

Bo Yezaki retorted confidently, "I already said it's later!"

Although he had been warned by Usakabe Saiki, these words actually increased his credibility, and Judy waited nervously for the call to connect.

During this time, Usoppei felt uncomfortable with his back to the gun barrel, so he simply turned around nonchalantly with the gun barrel pointing at him. Judy hesitated for a moment but did not stop him, because she also felt that seeing the other person's expression and eyes would probably help her to judge whether it was true or false, rather than just hearing the voice.

After a while, the call went through.

Upon hearing James's voice, Judy immediately asked, "Is it a convenient time to talk now?"

"It's convenient, what's wrong?"

"He's not dead?"

Judy used a pronoun because she was concerned that there might be other people around James, but James still understood.

James was surprised: "How did you know?"

"...Huh, it's really true?" Judy was incredulous. She should have been happy, but now she was only angry. "You only kept it from me?!"

James quickly explained, "No, not really. I noticed something he was doing. He had something on his hands to avoid leaving fingerprints, so I asked him about it..."

Judy suddenly realized: "So the fingerprints on the body and the gunshot wound... wait, they belong to that organization member named Kusuda Rikumichi?!"

At the time, the organization sent Kusuda Rikumichi to infiltrate the hospital to look for Kir. After being discovered by the FBI, he fled in a car, but was caught by Akai Shuichi and committed suicide by shooting himself.

Considering the timeline, it's not impossible that the body could be reused.

“Yes,” James admitted. “But how did you find out?”

Judy said coldly, "No, I didn't find anything. I don't know anything!"

The same thing happened when Rena Mizunashi was taken away by the organization! They kept everything from her! Saying things like, "I need the most realistic reaction that can fool the organization"... Doesn't that mean they don't trust her acting skills?!

James could tell from her tone that Judy was angry. He thought to himself that it was indeed wrong to keep something from his girlfriend, and his voice became weaker: "Then should I talk to Akai..."

“No need,” Judy said with a sneer. “I’d like to see when he plans to contact me.”

James: "...Okay, I understand. But remember to pretend you don't know he's not dead. Maybe someone from the organization will try to probe us."

Judy glanced at Usui Saiki, who was standing right in front of her: "Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Judy let out a heavy sigh.

Good news, my boyfriend is not dead.

Bad news! He faked his death to hide it from me!

"Can we put the gun down now?" Bo Ye Saiki complained. "What if it goes off accidentally?"

Jodie is now convinced that Potts is Shuichi Akai's partner; otherwise, she wouldn't have known about Akai's faked death and helped keep it a secret from the organization. Her attitude has also changed considerably, and she obediently puts down her gun: "Sorry, I didn't know you were working with him..."

"It's alright, who would know?" Bo Yezhai said generously.

The system commented: "Indeed, if it doesn't exist, how are people supposed to know about it?"

Judy asked anxiously, "What's his situation now? Where is he? Is he doing well?"

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” said Usakata Saiki. “But I told him that his girlfriend would definitely be angry if he did that, but he doesn’t seem to care.”

Judy gritted her teeth and said, "...Heh, thank you."

Bo Yezhai: [Look how accurate my divination is.]

System: 【…You personally provoked them, how could it not be approved…】

Bo Yezaki repeatedly warned, "My meeting with you was an accident, so please don't mention me to anyone else... In the future, when you see me, pretend you don't know me. There are people in the organization who are good at disguise, you understand? They might send someone to test Akai Shuichi's acquaintances to see if he is really dead, since they didn't have time to examine the body..."

Judy's expression hardened: "I understand, I will continue to pretend to be sad..."

Despite still harboring some wariness towards Potts, Judy couldn't help but feel that Shuichi Akai's analysis of Potts might not be entirely accurate.

He was very nice. He didn't get angry even when she pointed a gun at him. He offered to help her understand and comfort her... He didn't seem like a mental patient at all.

Maybe he was driven crazy by the atmosphere in the organization; he'll be fine once he leaves.

“Alright, let’s exchange contact information.” Bo Yezaki took out his phone. “But unless it’s something important, it’s best not to contact me. I can’t guarantee I’m in a safe place… Also, I haven’t betrayed the organization, understand? You have no proof.”

Judy understood immediately; wasn't this exactly how Shuichi Akai was when he was undercover? She instantly got the hang of it: "I understand, you've worked hard!"

Don't look at what people say, look at what they do.

Despite claiming he hadn't betrayed the organization, Potts then helped Rena Mizunashi... no, Kir, regain the organization's trust, faked Shuichi Akai's death to avoid attracting the organization's wrath if he stayed in Japan too long, and kindly reminded her of some important things to be aware of...

He did more than Shuichi Akai did when he was an undercover agent.

However, Shuichi Akai's information also mentions that Potts is a fun-loving person. Now that he is helping them, who knows what might happen in the future? They can't even say that they have something on him. Potts is willing to help them like this because he is not afraid of the organization's investigation.

She still couldn't trust Potts too much, but at least he didn't lie to her about Shuichi Akai faking his death.

As for the future... well, let's wait until Shuichi Akai finally feels he can tell her.

"Achoo, achoo, achoo!"

Shuichi Akai sneezed several times in a row, which made Conan Edogawa glance at him.

Conan Edogawa jokingly asked, "Who misses you that much?"

Akai Shuichi: "..."

His first thought was Potts, but the moment he thought of Potts, his mind began to wander, as if avoiding thinking about the problem deeply...

His psychological trauma from Potts is deeper than I imagined; he should definitely see a psychologist when he has the chance.

Moreover, even disregarding Potts's situation, there are still some mysteries surrounding Conan Edogawa... It would be safer to figure out Conan Edogawa's situation before going into deeper cooperation.

"Speaking of which, Conan-kun, you mentioned before that someone you know might be being targeted by the organization... What's the situation with that person?"

Conan Edogawa hesitated for a moment: "That person, I suspect the organization wants to recruit him. If I give you a chance to meet him, you'll probably understand."

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No extra update tonight, I've been very busy lately. I won't say anything more in the future, I'll let you know if there's an extra update.

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Fake fortune tellers: If the divination is inaccurate, they'll personally step in and change the outcome.

Thin Leaf: See how accurate my divination is! I knew Judy would be angry!

System: Whatever makes you happy...

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Speaking of the Red Team... In the original work, Akai suspected Bourbon was a Public Security Bureau mole, but he didn't tell Conan. He could explain it away by saying he wasn't entirely sure. But Bourbon's actions were even more outrageous. He clearly knew Rum's situation but refused to say anything! He only gave Conan a hint...

With this kind of superficial collaboration, when will Detective Conan ever end?