Chapter 43 Gunshots Ring Out [VIP]

After Cheng Yougang finished dinner with the second gambling king, he received a message that the package had arrived and had been left at the hotel front desk.

Cheng had always booked room 1503 at the XXX Hotel, but he told the No. 3 gambling king, "Today I'm going to room 1503 of this hotel to meet someone. You have to protect me."

The Second Gambling King: You still need my protection? Fine, I get it, you're just too lazy to do it yourself. But he smiled and agreed: "Don't worry, boss!"

The two walked out of the Nishino district before hailing a taxi. The driver noticed that the second gambling king had bruises on his face and arms and was visibly alarmed.

Seeing this, Cheng smiled and explained, "Uncle driver, don't be afraid. He just fell while walking. This child has been mentally challenged since he was little."

The second gambling king was stunned for a few seconds, then let out a few silly laughs.

The driver then opened the car door with some skepticism.

"Thank you, Uncle." Cheng You smiled and sat in the back seat. When the Second Gambling King was about to sit next to Cheng You, he was scared back by a look from the other party. The Second Gambling King pretended to be simple-minded and sat in the passenger seat.

In front of the XXX Hotel, Cheng Yourang, the second gambling king, waited while he went to the front desk to retrieve the package. He casually opened it and found a bottle about the size of an alcohol bottle and a small glass bottle that looked like a perfume sample.

That's enough.

Yu-ichi also sent the drug instructions to Cheng You at the opportune moment.

Cheng You confidently took the bottle and boarded the elevator with the Second Gambling King. In front of room 1503, Cheng You smiled and took out the room card to open the door. The Second Gambling King was startled: "Aren't you here to meet someone?"

"Yes, but they gave me the room key in advance." Cheng's tone was relaxed, which made the second gambling king relax.

The two entered the room. The second gambling king looked around but didn't see anyone. He immediately had a bad feeling. Before he could react, Cheng knocked him unconscious with a karate chop.

"Tsk, it must have been a hassle for you to walk all the way here." Cheng You squatted down and looked at the other person. He had never intended to let these evil people live, but he needed a corpse to replace Morofushi Kagemitsu in order to deceive the organization's investigation.

Killing him directly and bringing his body from Higashino Ward would be too troublesome, so they had to trick him into coming slowly.

Cheng You took out the drug that was in the perfume sample bottle. It was a sedative, and a small dose could make him unconscious for a week. Cheng You directly poured half a bottle down his throat, so he would be unconscious for half a month. He just needed to be given some liquid food in between to keep him alive.

After binding the second gambling king and placing him in a closed bedroom, Cheng You searched his body and confiscated his electronic devices, taking out the SIM card to destroy in the public restroom. Then, Cheng You used the system interface to erase all surveillance information related to the second gambling king, including the dashcam footage from the taxi.

After taking care of everything, Cheng You arrived at the place he had arranged to meet with Zhu Fujingguang on time. They could talk online, which would be safer, but Cheng You was still worried. He knew Zhu Fujingguang's resilience, but he needed to meet with him in person. He needed to keep an eye on Zhu Fujingguang's situation in order to carry out the subsequent fake death plan.

Moreover, Cheng wanted to know what regrets Zhu Fujingguang had about that heartbreaking rooftop incident.

Soon, Morofushi Kagemitsu arrived dressed in black. He drove there, and it seemed to be a rented car to conceal his identity.

Having already ensured that there were no surveillance cameras or eavesdropping devices inside the vehicle, Zhu Fujingguang waved for Cheng You to come up.

Cheng You sat in the back seat.

"Tell me about it." Morofushi Kagemitsu skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point.

“That’s right. The black-clad organization’s undercover agent in the police force discovered your identity, and your contact is highly suspicious.” Cheng You shrugged and said, “Even if you trust him, he did not protect your information well, which led to your exposure.”

"No, the internal situation of the public security is far more complicated than you imagine. In the process of reporting up the chain of command or issuing orders, there may be undercover agents interfering or discovering something at every step."

“…Okay, I don’t really doubt your contact.” Cheng You remained silent for a long time after saying that, as he really didn’t know how to continue the conversation.

"Is there something you're having trouble saying?" Morofushi Kagemitsu noticed his expression and asked with a smile.

"..." Cheng You couldn't help but laugh. He asked, "Your identity has been discovered, but I don't know how the organization will deal with you. Suppose that a former mission partner comes to execute you, and he tells you that he was also an undercover agent sent by the Red Team into the organization, what would you think?"

“Testing me.” Zhu Fujingguang said without hesitation, “But he already knows I’m an undercover police officer, and the organization has already given me a mission to kill me. Why would he need to go through the trouble of testing me?” He thought about it carefully, but then he sensed something was wrong.

"What do you think?" Cheng asked.

“I could take a gamble. Anyway, this is how my life is. If the organization wants to kill me, I can’t escape.” Morofushi Kagemitsu’s tone suddenly turned serious. “But if he wants to use me to extract information about other undercover agents, I might choose to die.”

"You're going to die like this? No regrets?" Cheng asked casually. It seemed like the two weren't talking about anything important, just casual conversation.

“Yes,” Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled wryly. “I promised to go back to the Public Security Bureau with Zero and the other organizations after their downfall, and then get together with my former colleagues. It’s been so long. I also promised my contact that I would eat cake with him after the organization’s downfall and watch him achieve great success in the detective field. And Nagano Prefecture, that place full of childhood memories, my brother, Yamamura Misao… I really want to go back and see the snow there again.”

"...Yes."

"Hahahaha." Zhu Fujingguang laughed with relief and changed the subject again, "So what happened next? Was the person who came to kill me trying to get information out of me? And in the end, he couldn't get anything out of me and killed me?" Although Cheng You used "what if" to start the topic, Zhu Fujingguang already had the answer in his heart. This was probably what he was going to face.

“No, it’s because…” Cheng pondered, unsure how to describe the unexpected event that had suddenly occurred.

"Huh? Could it be that someone has come to rescue me?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked half-jokingly, but he didn't expect that outcome. The only person who could come to rescue him was Zero, but how could he bear to let Zero take such a big risk to save him?

"Haha, if someone really came to rescue you, would you cooperate with them and fake your death to escape?"

"No. Fake my death and leave? Where could I go? The Black Organization will definitely keep tracking me down. My family and friends will be in danger, and even the person who saves me will be in danger." Morofushi Kagemitsu's expression was serious, as if he was afraid that Cheng Youzhen would risk his life to save him on the day he died.

"If there really is a chance to fake my death and escape, and I have already found a body to take my place, would you be willing to try it with me?" Cheng asked seriously.

Without the slightest hesitation, Morofushi Kagemitsu nodded: "Of course, I still have many things to finish."

“Okay, live on. Our future depends on you,” Cheng You said. He had originally planned to reveal Lai’s identity directly, let Morofushi Hiromitsu go back and talk to Lai and Furuya Rei, and then the three of them would plan the Scottish death together. It was bound to succeed.

However, the system prevented his actions, which would affect the progress of many subsequent main storylines. Just like Morofushi Hiromitsu's contact, who was indeed a top-notch detective and capable of finding out who the undercover agent was, the rules of this world wouldn't allow him to find out. Because if he had found out, there would have been no subsequent death in Scotland.

All the important storylines, including Ray's identity, the clash between red and black, Bourbon's choice among three, and the investigation of Shuichi Akai, will no longer exist.

So the way Conan connected with the Japanese Public Security Bureau and the FBI might be different, or he might not have connected with them at all.

The main storyline cannot be changed.

This is such a hassle. Since I'm asked to save them and change the plot, I can't make any major changes?! Tsk.

Cheng sighed helplessly. What was troubling him now was how to quietly replace his body with a substitute.

"What exactly happened in the end?" Morofushi Kagemitsu suddenly steered the conversation back, his eyes showing no concern for his own life, only curiosity about the gossip. It was unclear whether he genuinely didn't care, or if he was hiding his true feelings to avoid worrying Cheng You.

Cheng You smiled and said, "Someone suddenly went upstairs and hurriedly ran to the rooftop."

"Who? If it's someone I know, I should be able to recognize their footsteps. Even if it's someone I've worked with before, I can still tell if they're someone I don't know well."

"...It was the sound of familiar footsteps."

“Someone I recognize? Then I’m pretty sure I know who it is. But I can’t rule out the possibility that someone is impersonating someone; there are quite a few people in the organization who are good at disguising themselves.” Morofushi Kagemitsu said thoughtfully.

"So that's how it is."

"So who is it?"

"It's not important," Cheng replied with a laugh, brushing it off.

"Not important? Okay." Morofushi Kagemitsu naturally ended the conversation by going along with the other person's words.

Even if Cheng didn't say it, Zhu Fujingguang could guess the general idea.

“We can discuss the plan another time. You can go now, it’s getting late.” Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled at Cheng You.

"Okay, you must believe me, Zhu Fu, and you must believe in yourself too. You are really, really, really important."

"Thanks."

Watching Cheng You's figure gradually disappear into the distance at the stairwell, Zhu Fujingguang took out a pack of cigarettes from the car compartment, opened the car window, lit it, and silently held the cigarette in his mouth, looking at the dimly lit underground parking lot.

People came to his rescue; familiar faces rushed over...

It's probably Zero...

Knowing it was Zero, Morofushi Kagemitsu's feelings became even more complicated; he could almost see that bloody scene.

Hopefully he's wrong.

After smoking three cigarettes, Morobushi Kagemitsu drove away.

Back at the organization, he composed himself, but when Furuya Rei passed by him, he smelled a strong odor of smoke and immediately noticed that Morofushi Kagemitsu's expression was off.

"What's wrong, Scotland?" Furuya Rei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired," Morifushi Kagemitsu smiled.

As an outstanding sniper in the organization, and frequently on missions, each sniper requires him to concentrate intently for hours or even days. It's normal for him to be tired, and it won't arouse suspicion.

That night, Morofushi Kagemitsu had a dream, a very real dream. Black and red, intertwined in the dream, with shattered glass and sudden gunshots. He felt a pain in his chest, he felt suffocated, tense, and exhausted, yet there was also a strange sense of relief.

He felt the cool breeze on the rooftop, which made his chest ache slightly.

He heard footsteps, hurried and rapid, each beat striking his heart, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Gunshots rang out.

A note from the author:

A small theater.

In a parallel universe, the Whiskey Trio would know each other's undercover identities.

Rum assigned Rye a task, requiring him to deal with Scotland.

Ray: "I'll help you fake your death."

Bourbon: "I'll take over. What you're doing isn't rigorous."

"I don't think your idea will work."

"You'll still be discovered if you do this."

After arguing for a while, Scotland finally said, "Just let me go."

“Good idea,” Bourbon agreed immediately. “Anyway, it’s Ray who will be punished if the mission fails.”

Ray: …………………

————

Rei Furuya probably curses Rai in his mind every time he sees Hiro smoking.

Lei would sneeze for no apparent reason: "Tsk, who's talking about me behind my back again?"