Chapter 68 Unveiling the True Face

The moment the power was restored, everyone's eyes felt a little uncomfortable. The first person to regain their sight exclaimed, "Look! It's Phantom Thief Kid!"

A white figure appeared in the center of the rising platform. The Phantom Thief, dressed in a pure white suit, finally made his appearance amidst the anticipation of the crowd. With a gentlemanly demeanor, he greeted the audience below, cleared his throat, and said, "First of all, I want to express my sympathy to that unfortunate lady. However, I also want to clarify the facts: I was not the one who committed the crime against you, and the murder has nothing to do with me. I believe the police officer will give me justice on this matter."

At this point, he politely bowed to Gao Ming.

"Damn you, Kid! You actually want the police to prove your innocence?!" Mr. Suzuki was furious.

Sonoko was greatly disappointed: "No way? Lord Kid is my sister, but I didn't realize it at all!"

"Although this notice wasn't written by me at all, I still accepted the Heart of the Black Swan as is customary... Oh, by the way, I have some good news for Mr. Suzuki: this time the gem isn't a fake." Kidd turned on the switch on the elevator platform. He had originally thought the gem would be hidden inside, but it was empty.

"Could it have already been stolen by the criminal?"

Kidd was furious and used his name to commit crimes, ultimately leaving him with nothing, not even the jewels!

What's even more infuriating is that little detective. We agreed that Conan would do him a small favor as a thank you, promising to clear Kid's name as a reward. But that brat disappeared all night!

"I'll never believe a detective's lies again!"

Kidd was deeply hurt by the trick, as he hadn't even sent a warning letter this time, allowing the unknown opponent to gain the upper hand!

Just as Kid was cursing the criminal and the detective in his mind, he heard a few strange noises above his head.

Kidd looked up and was startled: Oh no! He'd forgotten about the two bomb disposal officers!

Hagiwara and Matsuda were looking down from the ceiling height on the elevator platform. Hagiwara asked curiously, "Are you Kid?"

"Officers, you've worked hard. I'll take my leave now!" Kidd said, turning to run. But he had no luck with the weather, the location, or the people around him; the snow was heavy and the wind was strong, so the hang glider was definitely unusable. So, how about blending into the crowd?

Just then, Lady Luck finally smiled upon Kidd. Instantly, thick smoke billowed from the ballroom.

Amuro rushed outside to check the situation: "Something's wrong! Fire! Everyone run!"

At this point, no one cared about Kid anymore; they were only thinking about escaping. A large group of men, women, and children in strange costumes rushed towards the stairs. Those behind stepped on the masks thrown down by those in front, while those in front turned back to pick up the high heels and jewelry that had been knocked off.

The scene was in complete chaos!

Komei and Kansuke tried their best to maintain order, while Kid took off his clothes and blended in to escape successfully. Hagiwara and Matsuda, who had just defused the last bomb, were completely confused about the situation.

"Hagi, why did we come here to work overtime just for a slice of lemon pie?!"

"Jinpei-chan said that we could also do some sightseeing while we're at it, so it's definitely worth it."

"So what do we do now?"

"Run! Look, everyone's running away." Hagiwara wasn't panicked because Kagemitsu had just told him it was a fake fire. But to keep up with the performance, they still had to put on a good show.

Matsuda was speechless for a moment. He struggled to follow the crowd downstairs with his cane, firmly refusing his childhood friend's "kind offer" to carry him down.

The smoke bombs were suggested by Bourbon to be prepared by the organization.

“If the original plan fails, we can take advantage of the chaos to kill Sherry. She’s so eager to avenge her sister that she will definitely not run away with the others,” Bourbon said.

Sure enough, the black-robed witch took advantage of the smoke and ran in the opposite direction from the crowd.

Amuro wanted to chase after her, but was stopped by the vampire baron: "You escort her downstairs, I'll go after Sherry!"

Left with no other choice, Amuro obediently complied. He gentlemanly helped the injured "Ayako" to safety and asked, "Do you need me to bandage you up?"

The black-haired woman pulled off her headscarf, revealing a pair of beautiful blue cat eyes: "Thank you, I've already treated the wound."

Amuro asked with concern, "Who did this?"

Kiel gave the other person a meaningful look: "It's someone you know! The man I hate the most."

"So it was him... Do you want me to avenge you?" Amuro asked with a smile, but there was a hint of terror in that smile.

Kiel replied indifferently, "Thank you for your concern, then I'll leave it to you. I'll be going now, goodbye!"

However, while Kiel on the ground could easily leave, the three organization members on the 12th floor rooftop were not so lucky.

Impatiently, the fake Shirley ripped off the cumbersome fake skin and shouted angrily, "Can you fly or not?"

Cohen shrugged helplessly: "You've seen the weather, the blizzard is too fierce, it's very dangerous to fly a helicopter!"

“Then isn’t Shuichi Akai in danger? Calvados is already injured, the FBI is upstairs across the street, and the police are downstairs. We’re running low on ammunition. Shuichi Akai and Blizzard, you have to take one of them out!” Chianti commanded firmly.

Cohen sighed: "Then I'll just fly the helicopter."

Finally, the helicopter took off, albeit shakily.

"Mr. Akai, should we pursue them?" Camel asked.

"Forget it, it's not worth it." Akai didn't even lift his eyelids and quickly reported the news to Hino.

Turning our attention back to the 12th floor, the vampire was relentlessly pursuing the witch. He fired two shots, but both missed.

Whether it was the smoke blurring her vision or her unfamiliarity with the hotel's interior layout, the witch ran for a while before stopping in front of a floor plan hanging on the wall.

This gave the vampires who were close behind an opportunity. They fired three shots at the other side, but the bullets only hit the map and not the target. The witch escaped again.

However, due to the thick smoke, the vampire did not notice that there were a total of 4 bullet holes in the picture, one of which had already been left before he fired the shot.

Those are the coordinates that guide the witch there.

The witch ran to an unlocked room to hide, but the vampire shot her, preventing her from closing the door in time.

The vampire darted inside, adopting a condescending air: "Sherry, where else can you hide? Just accept your fate!"

The witch removed her mask, revealing Sherry's face, and asked, her chest heaving, "Fate? Why should my fate be decided by you? You killed my sister, and you..."

"Ha! I think you're mistaken. Gin won't be showing his face here tonight." The vampire reverted to her original voice. "Looks like Bourbon was right, you really are eager for revenge! No wonder you looked like you were in mourning today. Although it was courageous to risk your life, it was also foolish! It seems the FBI can't come to save you."

“You are… Vermouth?!” Sherry feigned surprise, widening her eyes before letting out a cold laugh. “Fine, it doesn’t matter who you are.”

"What's the meaning?"

"You're the mastermind behind my parents' deaths 17 years ago? Since you can't avenge my sister, you'll avenge my parents!" Shirley's tone carried a tragic air of heroic sacrifice. "Vermouth, you've got it wrong. I'm not like you. After my sister's death, I didn't intend to live anymore! Whether it's the FBI or you, you're all just using me! If there's anything I can do in this world, it's only revenge, isn't it? This time, I'll take matters into my own hands and die with you!"

As she spoke, Shirley pulled out the fuse of the explosive.

Vermouth was taken aback, never expecting Sherry to go to such lengths. Just as she was about to fire, a bullet shot through the door struck her right arm, causing her shot to miss.

"Akai?"

Taking advantage of the moment, Sherry lit the fuse. Vermouth immediately pushed Sherry down, rushed out the door, locked Sherry inside, and hurriedly escaped.

However, she only ran a few steps before the massive blast wave from the explosion knocked her to the ground, rendering her unconscious…

On the other hand, Shirley's experience was even more perilous.

Vermouth firing the gun and locking the door were expected. But for her to escape through the window in those mere ten seconds was an extreme act of survival. Escaping through the window was definitely not feasible; the explosion was too powerful, and this was the 12th floor.

Shirley threw off her hat and witch's robe, slipped into the pre-prepared escape tunnel, and slid down to the 11th floor. Just then, a loud crash came from upstairs.

Santa Claus was already waiting at the exit: "Miss, may I have this dance?"

The woman tore off her mask and let out a long sigh: "Sorry, let me catch my breath... It was so exciting! I never expected Shin-chan to assign me such a role. Hey Yusaku, but that was really dangerous! I was so afraid I'd run into the wrong room because of the tension, my heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest."

"But Miss Witch's performance tonight was quite outstanding; I think you deserve the Best Actress award." Santa Claus also took off his bulky outfit and quipped, "But is this outfit my revenge for last time?"

"I think this outfit is quite cute - speaking of which, that guy who makes really delicious lemon pie is also a pretty good shot! But why couldn't he have told me where the bomb was beforehand? I could have made some preparations."

"I think it was because he was afraid of being discovered by the enemy. He must have sneaked up during the second power outage to set everything up. At that time, the ball was in a lot of chaos, and no one would have noticed. He was probably even responsible for the power outage."

"I see. But the matter is finally resolved satisfactorily. Is the girl I was impersonating safe now?"

"No, I'm afraid not yet." Yusaku's expression was solemn. "The outcome is still uncertain, there's still overtime."

As Vermouth lay unconscious on the ground, she vaguely sensed someone approaching. She hoped it was Bourbon, but her hopes were dashed.

She struggled to open her eyes and saw a pair of unfamiliar shoes through the smoke.

Vermouth pretended to be still asleep, secretly clenching her fists in preparation for launching a sneak attack when the other party approached.

However, before she could even take action, someone else had already taken care of the problem for her.

Two bullets whizzed through the thick smoke. Vermouth got up and saw Bourbon's blurry figure, while the other person hid.

"Hurry up! Don't linger!" Vermouth quickly ran towards the stairwell.

Bourbon, understanding the situation perfectly, provided cover fire for the enemy's retreat, ending the gunfight with his childhood friend.

However, Vermouth thought that the person who fought Bourbon was Shuichi Akai.

Once they were out of the FBI's reach, Vermouth dropped her mask: "Thank you for what happened earlier."

"Can I gain your trust?"

The blonde woman gave the man a deep look: "Bourbon, if you lose that gentleman's trust, you won't be the one speaking now."

“But I didn’t gain that gentleman’s trust either, did I? I provided the most information, yet you kept tonight’s operation plan from me. You wouldn’t even tell me who I was impersonating,” Bourbon grumbled. “We’ve investigated everything that needed to be investigated, and interrogated everyone who needed to be interrogated. If that gentleman trusts the effects of the truth serum, then he should also believe my testimony, right? Judging me as his accomplice based on just two meetings with Pisco is a bit much, isn’t it?”

Vermouth comforted him gently, saying, "I'm sorry, this is a serious matter and must be dealt with seriously. That gentleman will not let any traitor go unpunished, nor will he fail any loyal subordinate. Your case will be resolved as soon as possible."

"Is this the final verdict?" Bourbon raised an eyebrow.

“If you’re so eager, I can grant your wish.” Vermouth swiftly fired a shot at the golden head.

However, the gun didn't fire: the magazine was empty.

Vermouth watched with satisfaction as the other person's expression of fear flashed across their face: "Don't question that gentleman's decision. Just complete the mission well, and we won't wrong you."

"good."

Only after the blonde woman left did Amuro finally breathe a sigh of relief: What a close call!

"You were scared just now, weren't you?" Anxin's voice was irritating, and Amuro immediately got angry.

"You went too far tonight! You actually shot at me, and now you're laughing!" Amuro pouted, clearly unhappy.

“You’ve misunderstood. I know Vermouth’s gun is out of bullets. I’ve been counting them! Otherwise, she definitely wouldn’t have shot you.”

"Okay, I misunderstood. But the gunfight just now felt so strange. It was the first time you'd pointed a gun at me! It was like we'd really become two opposing sides, good and evil, that couldn't be separated."

"What nonsense are you talking about? No matter what we say or do, we are partners with the same stance on the same front."

"Yes, of course I know! So what exactly did the FBI do?"

“Akai has already left. He said he first met Gin, and then he met Kir.”

"That can't be a valid reason for being missing for so long, can it?"

“Akai didn’t explain much. But I’m more worried about where Gin went later. Because Akai said that Gin didn’t want to fight, and it seems that he wasn’t really after him, but just happened to run into him.”

"Speaking of which, how's Conan doing?"

"We can't get in touch with him at all. It seems like he's blocked the signal, so we can't locate him."

"What is he trying to do?!" Amuro thought for a moment, then a terrible thought surfaced in his mind, "Hey, hey, hey, that child wouldn't happen to be...?"

"Yes, I have the same concern." Jing Guang's tone turned heavy, and then another message arrived, delivering a fatal blow to the police:

The doctor said that Ai is missing.