Chapter 190 The Sequel to Reality Dimension

Day 12 of the Highway Survival Game!

Reality dimension:

Gin and Bourbon had just met up with Vermouth and learned from her about the approximate carriage where Sherry was hiding. They immediately began to move quickly towards the rear of the train while avoiding the attacks of the mutated termites.

However, after receiving the report of the crisis on the train, the train conductor immediately announced to all passengers via the train's public address system that the carriages at the front of the train were safe and there were no termites there.

The announcement caused everyone at the rear of the train to move towards the front. Many passengers crowded to get to the safer carriages at the front, while Gin and his group wanted to go to the rear. The corridor where the two met was full of mutated termites, and both sides had to avoid these mutated termites.

This made it extremely difficult for Gin and his two companions to move forward, like rowing against the current. They couldn't go on a killing spree in such a densely populated place infested with termites, as that would violate the organization's low-key and secretive style. Therefore, they moved very slowly toward the carriage at the back of the train where Sherry was.

People in other locations were experiencing similar situations. The Mori father and daughter, along with the professor and others, went with the flow, moving towards the front of the train and trying their best to protect those around them, especially the children, from being attacked by the mutated termites.

Even if Shinichi Kudo in his child form wanted to quickly strike up a conversation with Kaito Kid, whose identity he had already discovered, Kogoro Mouri, with a serious expression, strictly forbade him. Ignoring Shinichi's desire to struggle and stay to help Ai Haibara, Kogoro forcibly took him away with the crowd.

Shuichi Akai and Yukiko Kudo were also going against the flow of people, hoping to get to Sherry's location as soon as possible...

On the other side, Shiho Miyano and Akemi Miyano were startled by the sudden appearance of mutated termites and screamed. Fearing that the organization would discover their presence, they quickly swallowed back their frightened cries.

Shiho Miyano then tried to suppress her aversion to insects, looked down to observe the activity patterns of these termites, and killed one to check the general physical condition of these mutated termites: "Sister! These termites are not ordinary termites."

They are about 4 to 5 times larger than ordinary termites, their digestive and gnawing abilities are at least 10 times faster, and most importantly, the acidity in their body fluids is estimated to be at least 25 times higher than normal. This is not a mutation that could occur through normal evolution.

It's more like a man-made product researched by some entity with a higher level of biotechnology than any organization, and with even less scruples, deliberately enhancing the termites' gnawing and acid-corrosion destructive power...

Shiho Miyano didn't say the last sentence aloud. She always knew that although her sister didn't say it, she was actually very resistant to her getting involved in or doing research-related work within the organization.

Knowing that her sister had naively believed the organization's obviously baiting messages, and had gotten herself into trouble trying to get her away from the organization, only to end up with her fate unknown.

She once deeply resented Moroboshi Dai, the FBI undercover agent, for deceiving her sister's feelings. She was angry that her sister would do something so foolish for a man, and she couldn't understand how her sister could be so stupid. They had been fine for two years after breaking up, but suddenly she wanted to leave the organization for him...

However, as she followed Kudo-kun to investigate her parents' affairs little by little, especially when she returned to her parents' former home, found the cassette tapes her sister had hidden there, found the hard-working study notes her sister had hidden in the place where her sister had gone to school, and had a time capsule letter with some veiled metaphors, etc.

She gradually came to understand another side of her sister, realizing that she was so clever that she could tamper with things right under the organization's nose and hide their parents' belongings without being exposed. She also knew that when she was in elementary school, she had actually thought about studying hard to change the fate of the two sisters.

Knowing that she was always the most important person in her sister's heart, and recalling that before her sister took action, it was the research institute project she was in charge of that was conducting human experiments, and that her sister's ability to gather information about the organization was much stronger than hers, she realized that she was the most important person in her sister's heart.

She vaguely suspected that her sister's defection from the organization wasn't really for Moroboshi Dai's sake, but rather to stop her from continuing human experimentation and committing more crimes, even if it meant risking her own life.

After all, if it were for Moroboshi Dai, with her intelligence and knowing how much the organization's boss valued her, she would have found a way to escape the organization long ago, even if she defected, at most she would have received some punishment and reprimands from the organization, but her life would not have been in danger...

Having guessed this, when faced with her sister who had finally appeared before her, she subconsciously chose to hide her speculation about the lack of ethical boundaries in scientific research, so as not to remind her sister of her past involvement in human experiments and cause her to feel guilty.

"...Is it a product of an organization? Have they really gone to such extremes that they would disregard the lives of all the passengers on this bus just to kill you and silence you?" Although Shiho Miyano didn't say the last sentence aloud.

Having heard so much sarcastic talk from the organization's members, Akemi Miyano instantly guessed that Shiho Miyano's unspoken meaning implied that the termites were not a natural species but artificially created, suggesting that the organization deliberately released them onto the train to silence her sister.

Upon hearing this, Shiho Miyano hesitated for a moment before shaking her head: "As far as I know, although the organization does research some dangerous creatures and viruses, most of them are used as tools for members to commit crimes without leaving a trace. The research direction is towards making it impossible to find any trace of the crime."

"These are clearly products of artificial gene-editing technology. If they were to be exposed to the public, it would lead officials in various countries to suspect that they are the product of at least one large-scale biological research facility. Organizations would not approve such research projects."

"If it's not an organization, then there must be a third party researching this kind of thing on this train. What a coincidence!" Miyano Akemi expressed her doubts. As far as she knew, the organization was the hidden overlord-level force of the Japanese underworld.

Even the seemingly powerful Mud Sankai, the head of the Japanese underworld, was merely the organization's ATM. She couldn't imagine any other force researching things more dangerous than the organization itself right under its nose.

Shiho Miyano also had her doubts. Hearing her sister's words, she said uncertainly, "Perhaps the organization has been hiding this research information from me..."

After all, his main focus was on the restoration and improvement of medicines that his parents were researching, while these mutated termites involved research on biological gene editing. Their research directions were different, so it was normal for them to keep this information from him.

Just as Shiho Miyano hesitated and said this, at the same moment that the dungeon dimension's Wind Star Guardian and Hagiwara stepped into the dungeon exit, the giant termites on the entire train suddenly disappeared into thin air.

If it weren't for the people bitten and gnawed by termites, the severely damaged carriages, and the traces of acid corrosion, the nightmarish scene from just now would seem like a dream.

"Those horrible insects have disappeared."

"Why can't we see any of them?"

Was that just a hallucination?

"Quick, look around! They were just right next to my feet! How come there aren't any left now?"

"Look, the holes that those termites gnawed at the carriage are still there, so how did they suddenly disappear?"

…………

As the mutated termites vanished into thin air, the passengers in the front carriages, who were belatedly realizing what had happened, all voiced in disbelief and speculation.

At the same time, their panic as they fled the dangerous area eased considerably. Without that sense of panic about escaping for their lives, there were fewer and fewer people crowding around Gin, Bourbon, and Vermouth.

Bourbon breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the large termites vanish from his sight just like the box of weapons had disappeared into thin air. He whispered to Gin, "These termites disappeared so quickly; it seems they've made a safe retreat."

"Do you know why these things appeared? These guys aren't your doing, are they? You've really gone all out to get rid of Sherry!" Vermouth frowned slightly when she heard Bourbon say this, and said something that sounded like she was angry but her beautiful Persian cat-like eyes were full of dangerous charm that made it hard to look away.

Whether by coincidence or a cruel twist of fate, it just so happened that, in the corridor behind Vermouth, Conan was being pulled towards the front carriage by the back of his collar by Kogoro Mouri when he heard that unforgettable voice, so unforgettable it almost gave him nightmares, utter such a chilling sentence.

The voice just now sounded like Vermouth's. What did she mean? That was so dangerous just now, those super-dangerous termites that were clearly created through artificial gene editing were actually the work of the organization. Just to kill Sherry and silence her, they could disregard the lives and safety of so many people on the train?

Overwhelmed with rage, Conan struggled to break free from Kogoro Mouri's grasp and landed safely on the floor. As he stood steadily on the corridor floor and looked up toward the source of the sound, he was shocked and filled with lingering fear as he saw the figure of his true nightmare appear before his eyes—Gin!

Gin actually came in person? If it's him, then it's not surprising at all that he would create such a large-scale scene that disregards the lives of countless ordinary people. The time before last, he was able to blow up one of the Twin Towers on a grand scale.

Last time, he strafed Tokyo Tower with armed helicopters, and now he's just destroying a mere Suzuki family express train. In his eyes, it's just a casual act, a decision worth making as long as it can get rid of Ai Haibara!

Wait a minute! The blond guy next to him is talking to him and Vermouth. Who is he? Is he also from the organization? The noisy, bustling carriage made it impossible to hear what the three figures were saying as they passed by him.

His fear and shock at the sight of Gin, as well as his worry that attracting Gin's attention would implicate Uncle Mori, Ran, and Professor Agasa, prevented him from rashly following him.

The last time Conan tried to investigate, he was so frightened that he fainted from lack of oxygen, which left a deep impression on him and taught him a great lesson. So this time, he naturally didn't dare to recklessly chase after them.