Chapter 70 Death Trap

Shiho arrived at the foot of the snow-capped mountain, where the majestic giant stood serenely, shrouded in night. The black and white colors naturally separated the sky and the earth, the boundary distinct, while the fluttering snowflakes blurred this boundary.

"It was here last time too."

Shiho gave a wry smile, remembering that Mr. Hino had explained to her that the organization had discovered her traces here, which led to tonight's operation.

It begins where it ends.

After going around in circles, we've returned to where we started. Thinking about it carefully, it has a sense of destiny.

"Death is fate."

Shiho let out a helpless sigh. Only at this moment did she realize how strong her will to survive was.

She knew that so many people cared about her and were working hard to pave a way for her to survive, but she herself gave up.

"Of course I want to live, but if things continue like this, won't everyone be dragged down with me?"

"Gin already knows where I'm hiding."

There was only one person in sight at the ski resort.

Is it Gin?

Shiho took a deep breath and walked over, leaving footprints of varying depths in the snow.

Upon closer inspection, the scene before her eyes astonished her:

Vodka was sitting on the sleigh humming a Santa Claus tune, completely off-key. But he was oblivious, as happy as a child weighing over 200 pounds.

The sleds were like train carriages linked together, and were supposed to be pulled by animals or people. But the ski resort was closed now, so no one was pulling the sleds for him, and he just sat there imagining twelve reindeer carrying him into the sky.

Just a few days ago, the professor brought them here to play.

Children perfectly match the style of this place. But if you switch to vodka, the scene becomes extremely eerie and unsettling.

In Shiho's opinion, this was something that only happens in horror movies!

Just as Shiho was puzzled, the singing suddenly stopped.

The vodka, feigning composure, coughed twice: "Chianti, what brings you here? Did your helicopter crash into a mountain? Where's Cohen? Why wasn't he with you?"

Shiho was bewildered by the series of questions, thinking: It's one thing that Vodka is tone-deaf, but how could he confuse me with Chianti?

Could this letter not have been sent by Gin?

She couldn't understand how things had turned out this way: Vodka had never intended to kill her; instead, she had foolishly delivered herself to his door like a lamb to the slaughter.

Vodka, feeling embarrassed and angry that the other person didn't respond, said, "Hmph! You won't be riding in my car later!"

"It seems he really does mistake me for Chianti."

Shiho suddenly regretted not bringing a voice changer; if she had, she might have escaped death tonight. But her voice was so different from Chianti's that Vodka would easily recognize it.

"Stop!" Shiho shouted.

Vodka was startled. He turned around and looked at the brown-haired woman in confusion, then noticed the bomb in her hand and belatedly exclaimed, "Ah! You're Sherry!"

Shiho stole the bomb. She knew that the police had prepared many bombs for tonight's grand fake death plan, and that taking one secretly might go unnoticed.

"Drop the gun!" Shiho threatened, holding up the bomb.

"You...you mustn't do something reckless!" Vodka was also bewildered by this unexpected turn of events, and his words were somewhat slurred and stuttered.

"Do as I say, or I'll let you taste what it's like to be blown up!"

"You crazy woman, you'll die too!"

"Do you think I'm afraid?" Since we've already come this far, we were prepared to die anyway.

Vodka weighed the pros and cons and reluctantly put the gun on the ground.

"Kick it further away!" Shiho ordered fiercely.

Vodka then kicked the gun away: "Is that alright now?"

"Where's Gin?"

"have no idea."

"Be honest, tell the truth!"

"I really didn't know!" Vodka said, on the verge of tears. "My older brother went to chase after Wakasa Rumi."

"Then why are you here?"

“I was injured, so my older brother didn’t let me come along.” Vodka showed his dislocated shoulder, but he didn’t say who hit him.

"Did Gin send you to wait for him here?"

"No, I came by myself."

"Why?" Shiho pressed, she had to get to the bottom of this.

"Because, because..." Vodka said a little embarrassedly, "I've always wanted to ride a sled but I've never had the chance!"

Shiho was incredulous at the answer: When did vodka become so childlike?

But seeing that the other person's expression didn't seem to be lying, she reluctantly accepted the answer.

How many organizations are working at the hotel?

Vodka counted on his fingers: "Vermouth, Chianti, Cohen, Kiel, Calvados, and Bourbon."

"Rum didn't come?"

“No,” Vodka replied firmly.

"Do you know who delivered the letter to me?"

"What letter?" Vodka was completely confused.

Hearing this, Shiho was in a state of panic: What should I do now? Vodka doesn't know anything, maybe I've made a mistake?

But what a coincidence! If this letter wasn't written to me, then who was it written to?

Vodka noticed the other woman's hesitation and quickly said, "Shirley, calm down and don't do anything impulsive. Actually, that gentleman was waiting for you to go back and continue the experiment; he didn't intend to hold you responsible."

"Does that gentleman really not want to kill me?"

"Uh... I heard it from my older brother. That gentleman had shown this kind of attitude before."

"Before?" Shiho grasped the key point.

"Well, before Pixar died..."

"What does Pixar have to do with this?"

"I don't know, my older brother told me all of that."

"What else did Gin say?"

"You know, my older brother doesn't talk much."

"Oh really? Then I'm afraid you'll talk even less than him in the future." Shiho raised the bomb again and took two steps closer.

"No, no, no, don't do anything reckless. I'll tell you, okay? My brother also said that the gentleman has high hopes for your research, but Vermouth doesn't approve. Tonight's operation against you was also in that woman's hands. My brother and I were only in charge of Wakasa Rumi."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bullet struck Vodka's right arm, undoubtedly worsening his already dislocated arm.

Shiho realized someone had come to rescue her and was about to take the opportunity to escape when Vodka acted like a human shield, knocking her to the ground and causing the bomb in her hand to slip from her grasp.

"Since you want to do this so badly, then I'll grant your wish!" Vodka revealed a fierce and menacing face, pressing Sherry firmly to the ground with one hand, completely different from the person who was humming a song just now.

The gun had been kicked somewhere, and it would be too much trouble to strangle someone with one hand, not to mention there was a sniper in the distance!

"It might be Shuichi Akai."

Vodka thought gloomily to himself. He glanced indifferently at Shirley, who was struggling desperately, and suddenly an idea came to him. He whispered in her ear, "Do you want to taste what it's like to be blown up?"

"Damn it! I can't aim like this." Jing Guang stared intently at the scope, but couldn't find the right moment to pull the trigger a second time.

He was afraid that the bullet would hit Shiho instead of Vodka.

He had already gotten a general idea of ​​why Shiho had come here to "die" from the doctor's phone.

Perhaps wanting to leave a final message for the world and some evidence for the police, Shiho's conversation with Vodka was recorded and transmitted to the doctor in real time.

It was thanks to this scenery that her coordinates were quickly located.

Bang--

The second shot hit his left ear.

"If you dare touch her again, I'll smash your skull," Jing Guang thought to himself.

However, Vodka showed no sign of stopping. He quickly hid behind the sled, even using Sherry inside as cover.

"Let me go!" Shiho yelled, biting Vodka's paw.

Vodka, in pain, became fierce, pulled out a lighter, lit the fuse, and pushed the sled down the snow slope with all his might.

With a deafening roar, flames shot into the sky.

Jingguang collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the rising smoke. He couldn't see the other side of the snow slope, but he dared not imagine what a horrifying and bloody scene it would be.

Everything happened so suddenly that before he could even feel sadness, his heart was already filled with shock.

He pulled the trigger almost frantically, but his accuracy was poor; he was just firing wildly without any strategy.

Vodka let out a few sinister laughs, and seeing the familiar black Porsche in the distance, he rolled down the snow slope as if he had seen a savior.

As he passed by Shirley, he saw the woman lying there motionless.

"He really asked for trouble!"

Vodka thought to himself, "I'm going to claim credit with my older brother as a victor."

Gin, having just changed the spare tire on his car, glanced at the dead Sherry but didn't go to check the body. He had no desire to hunt tonight, and besides, it was impossible to survive such an explosion, just like the driver of the car that plunged off the cliff—he was doomed.

"Let Shuichi Akai collect the body!" The black Porsche quickly turned around and drove away.

Conan rushed over after hearing the explosion, but he didn't realize at first that it was Ai Haibara.

Because in his plan, there were three fake Sherrys to mislead everyone, while the real Sherry was safe.

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

He saw the pool of blood, which quickly congealed in the snow, its color dark and lifeless.

The air smelled of burning, thick smoke filled the air, and it was very pungent.

The woman with tea-colored hair lay quietly in the snow, surrounded by fragments of a sled and tiny, flickering flames that swayed precariously in the cold wind, like will-o'-the-wisps.

The wind carried a heavy sigh, as if all strength had been drained away in an instant.

They made so many preparations and went to great lengths, yet at the last moment they lost everything.

The scene before us seems to indicate:

All the plans and strategies, all the efforts made tonight, have come to naught in this moment…