Chapters 3562 and 3574 [Vermouth's Value] Requesting monthly votes (`)

"..." Vermouth didn't want to answer the question because a plane suddenly popped into her mind—the plane that Ireland had unfortunately taken when it returned from England to challenge Uzo.

The captain was poisoned, lightning struck the fuselage, the instrument panel malfunctioned, oil leaked, the airport exploded… all imaginable misfortunes seemed to have converged on that poor plane on the same day. To this day, Vermouth still doesn't fully understand how Uzo managed to do it.

Now it's her turn to board the plane. But if she were to reveal her itinerary to Uzo…

After a moment of silence, Vermouth firmly rejected this future.

She glanced at the baton in Jiang Xia's hand, changed the subject, and said dryly, "More important than my schedule is your current actions—don't forget, the organization forbids internal strife."

"Internal strife? If I remember correctly, I just tapped the floor, not you." The demon opposite sighed, sounding quite helpless.

“I just wanted to deal with that vicious criminal who attacked my friend, but it was too dark here and I mistook him for someone else—by the way, the party is over, why don’t you leave already instead of just loitering around the police?”

Vermouth's eye twitched: "..." This is practically turning the tables on you. Shouldn't you be asking yourself this question? Of course, it's because you dragged Angel and Cool Guy into this dangerous case.

"Let me guess." The answer had barely crossed her mind when Uzo's voice rang out, as softly as her own thoughts, "Is it because Conan and Ran were also involved in this dangerous case?"

Hearing those two names uttered by him, Vermouth paused slightly, and goosebumps silently rose on her back.

"Although I had already guessed that Uzo had noticed my unusual behavior when I was with Angel and Cool Guy, why did he just say it outright??"

Previously, when they had something on each other, there was a tacit understanding that both sides knew the truth but didn't say it. But now, as Uzo personally exposed the matter, Vermouth's heart sank deeper and deeper, almost to the bottom.

She had a vague feeling that some changes she didn't want to see were happening.

Although she wanted to maintain her usual mysterious demeanor and casually chat with Uzo to glean his true thoughts... in reality, the thought of Ran Mouri and Shinichi Kudo's current predicament made Vermouth's heart pound wildly, and she couldn't calm down.

Anyway, whatever her thoughts were, this terrifying child across from her would see right through them... Gritting her teeth, she simply asked bluntly, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"It's nothing, just a little regretful about your departure." Uzo sighed, as if an artist had witnessed a masterpiece cruelly torn apart, muttering to himself:

“Without you, those two are incomplete—the most interesting scene is when withered branches and rotten leaves in the darkness protect a seedling in the sunlight. Unfortunately, now, all that’s left are two ordinary seedlings in the sunlight.”

As Vermouth's eyes widened in surprise, the figure shook his head, as if giving up on the actors, and turned to walk to the other side of the counter.

...

"Found it!"

Ran Mouri, flashlight in hand, ran swiftly down the stairwell. Finally, on one of the steps, she spotted a familiar phone. "It's Sonoko's Nokia!"

Officer Sato ran down from upstairs and looked at the phone: "I just asked the customers in the food court on the tenth floor, and they all said they didn't see any high school girls or security guards—Sonoko should be on one of the floors below that are already closed."

Inspector Megure, looking at the dimly lit environment, called his subordinate: "Takagi, didn't I tell you to take some men to turn on the lights in the building? Why are the lights still off?"

On the other side, Officer Takagi was sweating profusely with anxiety: "The power suddenly went out! The electrician is working hard to repair it, but it may take some time."

Just as Inspector Megure was about to speak, a loud crash of shattering glass suddenly came from one of the floors.

"?!" Ran Mouri jumped in surprise and anxiously called out towards the direction of the voice, "Sonoko? Is that you, Sonoko!!"

There was no response from downstairs.

Conan gestured for her to be quiet: "Keep your voice down."

Ran Mouri was confused, but she instinctively shut up and covered her mouth.

As her echo faded, a crashing sound came from downstairs, sounding like something small and hard was flowing out and spilling onto the floor after a shelf was smashed.

"Sand, or rice?" Inspector Megure pricked up his ears, trying to figure it out. "No, it seems to be larger."

Officer Sato suddenly remembered something: "Could it be those small pebbles in the aquarium?"

"Aquariums..." Ran Mouri thought hard, "The pet section, I remember, is on the 4th floor!"

“Fourth floor…” Officer Sato nodded and rushed downstairs. Ran Mouri and Conan followed closely behind, their hurried footsteps echoing in the stairwell.

Inspector Megure originally wanted to go too, but he always felt that something was wrong.

After thinking for a moment, he turned to look at the wall and shone his flashlight on it. Floor signs were posted in the stairwell, clearly indicating the goods sold on each floor.

"Fashion, watches, children's clothing and toys, household goods, stationery..."

His eyes darted across the lines of text, and soon Inspector Megure's gaze settled on one particular word.

His expression was grave. Instead of heading to the fourth floor, he turned and ran to another floor.

...

The stationery counter on the 8th floor.

Sonoko Suzuki dodged the attack with all her might and rolled to the ground. Amid the crashing sound of the container breaking, she sat up, supporting herself with her hands on the ground, and moved backward shakily.

In front of her, Yoshio Sadakin, carrying a metal rod, slowly approached, saying to her, "You are a bunch of demons, a bunch of little demons who disguise themselves as cute girls but commit crimes without blinking an eye—people like you have no value in living!"

Sonoko Suzuki felt like she had encountered a lunatic. She wanted to argue back loudly, but she was too scared to make a sound.

Looking at her terrified face, Teijin Yoshio sneered with pleasure: "Actually, I just wanted to teach you a lesson, I didn't mean to kill you, but who told you to throw your phone at me? Now that you've seen my face, I can only ask you to shut up forever."

“Killing me, silencing me is pointless!” Sonoko Suzuki clenched her fists, finally managing to choke out a tearful voice, “You think that just because there are no living witnesses, no one will arrest you? Jiang Xia is in the underground parking lot—have you heard of Jiang Xia? He could easily catch a handful of hapless criminals like you!”

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