Chapter 229, Seventy-Third Cycle (59)

The aftermath of Curaçao's defection is very troublesome.

Just like every time an undercover agent or traitor was discovered before, the organization's strongholds they knew about needed to be destroyed and relocated.

Curaçao used to be Rum's man, but now he's Scottish. Although he's not very trusted, his abilities have allowed him to learn a lot of the organization's secrets, which has kept the organization very busy lately.

Except for bourbon.

Bourbon received another mission from the organization's boss.

Karasuma Renya instructed him to expedite the investigation into another organization coveting Pandora, while also placing greater emphasis on and accelerating the progress of the Pandora experiments.

Karasuma Renya won't live much longer.

Bourbon readily agreed.

At Poirot's Café, you don't need to take leave; you just need to go to the lab occasionally to do research.

Although the original laboratory was destroyed after Sherry defected, the rebuilt one was still within the Tokyo area and not far away.

The blond, dark-skinned man swiped his card to enter, picked up a white lab coat hanging nearby and casually put it on, then walked towards the laboratory inside.

The heavily guarded door was opened, revealing the laboratory inside.

It's more like a gem collection room and processing plant than a laboratory.

Beautiful gemstones of all sizes and colors are displayed in transparent showcases, shining even more brightly under the lights.

"Lord Bourbon."

The few researchers inside immediately stood up to greet Bourbon, and one of them, carrying a stack of documents, took the initiative to step forward and begin explaining the experimental content of the past two days to him.

It's the same as before, still a failure.

The researchers had almost completely lost confidence and hope, feeling that it was all nonsense and that they were just doing their jobs diligently because their bosses ordered them to.

In fact, they think that Bourbon, the person in charge of the Pandora experiment, thinks the same way. Didn't you see that before the BOSS spoke up, he didn't even come to the lab for more than a few days a month?

Sure enough, the blond, dark-skinned man casually flipped through the documents a few times, tossed them on the table, put his hands in his pockets, and went into the innermost testing area to observe.

The few people left outside exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief, only daring to communicate with their eyes.

Their boss, Bourbon, is a legendary figure.

To be fair, Bourbon didn't seem to have the same level of power over an entire department as Gin and Scotland, even when he was in charge of a very important research project. Strictly speaking, the head of the research group was the direct boss, while the intelligence and operations groups were more like subsidiary departments set up to facilitate the experiments.

To say he had no power would be a joke. Whether in the research group, intelligence group, or action group, Bourbon was able to move freely and held a high position. He could directly talk to the heads of the three key core departments, participate in the most important operations, and was responsible for important parts of the missions, completing them almost to the best of his ability.

He was practically omnipotent, so he went wherever he was needed.

If Gin and Scotland are the BOSS's right and left hands, then Bourbon should be like the brain of an organization directly under the BOSS.

That's why when Scotland said Bourbon was an undercover agent, the entire organization was shocked. Almost no one believed it, and some even made bets privately, speculating whether Scotland wanted to destroy Bourbon and then take complete control.

It was later proven to be another conspiracy by the hacker Sakura, which didn't surprise them at all.

Well, to be able to arrogantly climb to where he is now after being targeted by Scotland and Sakura for so long, Bourbon is indeed the most terrifying person.

*

"Haibara, what do you think of Amami-sensei?"

During physical education class, Conan Edogawa quietly approached Ai Haibara and whispered a question to her.

Ai Haibara turned her head and glanced over there, where Yuki Amami was smiling and guiding and protecting the children as they went about their activities one by one.

Physical education is a very important subject for children. Besides physical activities such as gymnastics, running, long jump, high jump, handstands, and jumping and tumbling on protective mats, there are also equipment-based or ball sports such as rope skipping, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, vaulting, parallel bars, horizontal bars, hula hoops, unicycles, and bicycles.

Yuki Amami's demonstrations were not only perfectly executed, but he could also react instantly to protect any child who made a mistake, providing a strong sense of security. With his gentle personality and handsome looks, he quickly won over the hearts of all the children in the class.

Ai Haibara looked through the man's black-rimmed glasses at his beautiful, upturned blue eyes.

“I know what you’re trying to say. At first, I did feel a chill run down my spine. I sensed the organization’s presence emanating from him.” Ai Haibara looked down at her hands. “But that feeling quickly disappeared.”

During halftime, Yuki Amami picked up her phone and seemed to be chatting with someone, typing very quickly.

Conan Edogawa looked at the familiar phone charm: "You saw it too, right? That white dolphin looks a lot like Curaçao's. Curaçao's eye is also an upturned blue."

“That thing is everywhere in the Tokyo Aquarium, and Curaçao died trying to save us.” Ai Haibara clenched her fist. “I saw it. She was pierced through the abdomen by a steel bar before she fell in, and then she never surfaced again. The police later pulled out a silver-haired female corpse that had been crushed beyond recognition by the Ferris wheel.”

She certainly hoped that Yuki Amami was actually Curaçao, but it seemed unlikely from any perspective, and apart from that eye and the dolphin pendant, there was no resemblance whatsoever.

Therefore, it is more likely that the organization took the dolphin pendant from Curaçao's body after examining her body, and eventually gave it to Scotland, who then wore it in a conspicuous place to test those who had previously been in contact with Curaçao.

“Since you suspect he’s Scottish, I advise you not to treat him that way, or you’ll definitely run into trouble,” Ai Haibara said.

The very next day, Conan Edogawa noticed a significant change in her attitude.

During this physical education class, Ai Haibara almost completely abandoned her wariness and rejection from yesterday, and showed the teacher a trusting and affectionate smile like an ordinary child.

Conan Edogawa: "..."

Ai Haibara shifted her gaze: "I just realized after spending time with him that he genuinely cares about the children, and I quite like him."

Conan Edogawa: "???"

*

Conan Edogawa couldn't understand why Ai Haibara suddenly changed her attitude, unless Yuki Amami was really Curaçao in disguise.

But if that's the case, why would Ai Haibara and Curaçao keep it from him?

In short, Conan Edogawa remains skeptical of Yuki Amami until things are completely certain.

Now it remains to be seen whether he will approach Mr. Amuro.

Professor Agasa won a hotel voucher and invited the children to go out for dessert.

Conan Edogawa also saw Wataru Date and Natalie at the scene.

He instantly became alert and turned to look around.

Ai Haibara: "?"

Ai Haibara: "What are you doing?"

Conan Edogawa whispered, "Haven't you noticed? Lately, it seems like every time I run into Mr. Matsuda, Mr. Hagiwara, and Mr. Date, a case happens nearby, and they always manage to save the victim at just the right moment."

Ai Haibara: "..."

Ai Haibara's half-moon eyes: "Edogawa-kun, perhaps you know what it means to be blinded by those involved while clear-headed bystanders? I think you might have misunderstood something. It should be said that you're present every time a case occurs, while the other three just happened to be there recently, keenly aware that something was wrong, and saved people. Honestly, compared to them, you're more outrageous, aren't you? Don't you know? I heard Inspector Megure complain before that you and Kogoro Mouri are Grim Reaper detectives, while they are angel police officers who snatch people from the hands of death."

Conan Edogawa: "..."

Whether it's Death or an angel, it's all so awkward, isn't it? No wonder he hadn't heard of it; everyone must have just been whispering their complaints to themselves.

Conan Edogawa knew, of course, that this was a joke and didn't take it seriously.

After all, it's impossible for a case to occur wherever he goes. On the contrary, it's the cases that summon the famous detective.

The three police officers didn't save people because they were angels; on the contrary, it was the will to protect the people's safety that summoned the keen-eyed police officers, and the police officers who saved people became angels.

Moreover, it's unlikely that things would really be such a coincidence that wherever they are seen, a case would occur.

Otherwise, it would be a prophecy or a curse.

"By the way, speaking of the police, do you remember the police in Nagano Prefecture that I told you about before?" Conan Edogawa suddenly remembered this.

"That Kongming?" Ai Haibara had a deep impression of this nickname.

"Yes, but now that I think about it, Inspector Morofushi's superior, the head of the First Investigation Division of Nagano Prefecture, that man named Kuroda Hei, is also very suspicious." Conan Edogawa told her about that man's background, emphasizing that he had been in a coma for several years and had his appearance disfigured, as well as those seemingly pointed remarks.

Seeing that no one was eavesdropping, Conan Edogawa covered his lips with his hand and said seriously, "He seems to be paying special attention to my affairs. I'm worried that if Morofushi Takaaki is Scottish, then maybe he's in cahoots, with one of them testing and observing from the open and the other from the shadows."

Ai Haibara put a few of the desserts back onto Professor Agasa's plate: "What did he say?"

Professor Agasa's happy expression froze, but after touching his chubby belly, he finally left with the plate containing only two desserts, looking aggrieved.

"Starting from unexpected points to find clues to support the reasoning, you're Kogoro's strategist. There's a rumor about that in the police department, Conan Edogawa." *Conan Edogawa said, "That's what he said to me directly. His expression was particularly scary. Although it might be because he looks scary, I always felt that he was being sarcastic."

Ai Haibara turned her head: "Is this the first police officer who has clearly expressed high attention and admiration for you on our first meeting? It does seem a bit unusual that he doesn't treat you like a child."

Conan Edogawa nodded, but quickly shrugged and laughed: "But since he's a Nagano Prefectural Police officer, he probably won't have much interaction with us. If they don't appear around us, especially around Mr. Amuro, then we shouldn't worry about them too much."

*

But in the end, the incident still occurred.

While feeling that these coincidences were getting a bit too far-fetched, Conan Edogawa continued to solve the case.

"Um, Officer Takagi, I have an idea..."

Takagi Wataru was already used to helping Edogawa Conan solve cases, and instinctively agreed.

Date and his friends never stop Conan, but Inspector Megure still felt it wouldn't work.

Megure bent down and said helplessly, "Conan-kun, even if it's you, this..."

"Um, Inspector." Takagi Wataru suddenly turned around with the phone in hand, looking bewildered. "The director said we should do as Conan says."

Inspector Megure: "?"

After hanging up the phone, Takagi Wataru couldn't help but bend over in amazement: "Conan-kun, you're amazing! You actually know our council member. That's incredible!"

Conan Edogawa blinked in confusion: "Huh? But Officer Takagi, didn't you already know I knew Officer Matsumoto?"

"Oh, that one, our First Investigation Division's current superintendent is a new transfer from Nagano Prefecture. His name is Kuroda Heibei. Don't you know him, Conan?" Takagi Wataru asked, also puzzled.

Conan Edogawa: "..."

Yes, we know each other perfectly. We were just talking about him.

Takagi Wataru smiled and said, "Director Kuroda also said that if it were Conan-kun, he would definitely be able to help our police solve the case. After all, you are Kogoro Mouri's strategist."

Edogawa Conan barely suppressed his panic and raised his face with curiosity, asking, "Huh? Who gave me this nickname? When did it start circulating in the Metropolitan Police Department? I've never heard of it before?"

Takagi Wataru looked puzzled: "Huh? No way? Although Conan-kun is very famous in our First Investigation Division, this is the first time I've heard of this nickname."

"Huh? Is that so? But Officer Kuroda said earlier..." Conan Edogawa suddenly stopped, his eyes widening instantly.

He suddenly remembered.

Kuroda Hyōe wasn't referring to the Metropolitan Police Department, but rather the National Police Agency!

*

"Conan? Conan?" Ran Mouri grabbed the child who was walking absentmindedly and said helplessly, "What are you thinking about? Be careful when you walk, or you'll bump into something."

Conan Edogawa awkwardly scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Ahaha, sorry Ran-neechan, I was just thinking about what to eat tonight~"

Of course, he was thinking about the bunch of blue-eyed people who seemed to be from Scotland that had recently started appearing around him.

Sera Masumi popped her head out from the side, revealing a sharp canine tooth with a smile: "Oh dear, it seems Conan-kun was just spacing out and didn't hear our discussion."

Sonoko Suzuki put her hands on her hips and said with dead fish eyes, "Seriously, we were just discussing where to eat later. We decided to go for ramen. What about you, kid?"

What could Conan Edogawa say? Of course, he nodded and went with them.

When he arrived at the place, he was surprised to find that it was a familiar ramen shop.

It's incredibly delicious Ogura Ramen.

The incident that occurred at the Ogura Ramen last time left a deep impression on both sides.

Therefore, the boss talked to them about some things during their casual conversation.

No case occurred this time, but there were incidents before, which has led to two policewomen frequently coming to inquire and investigate.

Just as Conan Edogawa thought the boss's description sounded familiar, two familiar policewomen rushed in.

Conan Edogawa: "..."

As expected, it was Yumi Miyamoto and Naeko Miike, police officers from the Traffic Enforcement Division of the Metropolitan Police Department, who were very familiar with the Junior Detective League.

Conan Edogawa has recently become quite interested in Yumi Miyamoto because her ex-boyfriend is suspected to be Hideyoshi Haneda from Scotland.

Yumi Miyamoto seemed to know her boss very well.

Ran Mouri asked curiously.

The owner laughed and said, "Yes, before the shop moved here, Yumi-chan used to come here often with her boyfriend, who liked to wear round glasses and had a stubble, to eat ramen."

Yumi Miyamoto slammed her hand on the table angrily: "It's my ex-boyfriend! My ex! boyfriend!!!"

The shop owner leaned against the counter and laughed: "Don't be angry, getting angry will ruin your cute droopy eyes."

Conan Edogawa buried his head in his ramen, thinking of another blond youth with cute droopy eyes. That person wasn't usually fierce; on the contrary, he often skillfully used his advantages to try to get away with being cute.

The boss grunted, "Speaking of which, Yumi-chan, you and your boyfriend are really a perfect match. One has fierce, droopy eyes, and the other has gentle, upturned eyes. Isn't that interesting?"

Conan Edogawa suddenly looked up.

These words were like a thunderbolt suddenly flashing through his mind, perfectly matching the Scottish bourbon characteristics that Ai Haibara had mentioned before, making his expression instantly sharp, then gradually become dazed.