Chapter 120 Chapter 120 If I were champagne, would you love me?
Rei Furuya returned home in the early hours of the morning. The apartment was dark, and Olga seemed to be asleep.
He stood quietly by the bed, watching her. Her crimson hair spread across the pillow like fine silk. She loved burying the lower half of her face in the quilt, pulling the sides of the quilt over the pillows. This way, she could gently lean her head against the soft quilt.
Furiya Rei just watched her, in the darkness. He watched her evenly rising and falling breathing. Olga, now devoid of her cunning and flamboyant demeanor during the day, appeared unusually well-behaved.
Champagne.
He remembered the word again.
In the afternoon, he met Zhu Fu Jingguang.
In fact, Furuya Rei had never thought that Morifushi Keimitsu was still alive. He had never thought that Olga would actually save Morifushi Keimitsu. He knew that Olga didn't like Morifushi Keimitsu. No, rather than saying she didn't like him, it would be more direct to say -
She hated Zhu Fu Jingguang.
But she still saved him.
Fūya Rei naturally knew why this was the case.
He squatted down beside the bed, concentrating on Olga's peaceful sleeping face. He raised his hand and gently brushed away the strands of hair that had fallen across her forehead.
The order to execute Zhu Fujingguang was issued by Champagne.
Fūya Rei recalled the black tea meeting that took place at Kudo's house not long ago.
His fingertips paused. He withdrew his hand and stood up. He remained silent, his eyes lowered, looking at Olga.
“I suppose Alsace is the legendary Champagne.”
At that time, Kudo Yusaku said this.
"wrong."
Without even giving it much thought, Rei Furuya's rebuttal came out of his mouth. Realizing everyone was looking at him, he had no choice but to appear objective and fair, attempting a well-reasoned analysis.
"Champagne has been active for at least 20 years. The timeline doesn't match. I can guarantee that Austria and Alsace are growing normally."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Conan and Akai Mary, and his meaning was obvious.
Twenty years ago, Olga didn't even exist. Rei Furuya watched her grow from a real child step by step. Therefore, there's absolutely no possibility that Olga took drug A and became a pseudo-child, then grew back to her current appearance.
"Of course." Kudo Yusaku still looked calm and composed. He must have considered this a long time ago. "So--"
Furiya Rei could see that Kudo Yusaku's lenses reflected a white light, making it difficult to see the meaningful look behind his glasses.
"I guess the Black Organization's codename is inheritable."
Just like that, he dropped this heavy bomb.
Rei Furuya actually didn't want to listen.
Code names are inherited. So what? Olga is still Olga, that will never change. He knows every crime she has committed. Even if the criminal's code name has changed from Alsace to Champagne, so what?
Then it suddenly occurred to Rei Furuya. Olga had actually told him long ago, when they first met, that Arthas was her name. It was a name, not a code name.
Amid the confused and thoughtful expressions of everyone except Rei Furuya, Kudo Yusaku slowly stated the basis for his reasoning.
"I recently collected and read many newspapers from a hundred to fifty years ago at the library, especially those related to Karasuma Renya and his family."
At some point, Conan had spread out several copies of old newspapers on the coffee table in the middle of the sofa, so that everyone could see the contents of the newspapers.
Because the date was too old, the text and photos in the newspaper were a bit blurry, but this did not prevent them from quickly identifying some key content.
"Everyone, please look," Kudo Yusaku stepped forward, bent down, and pointed his index finger at a blurry black and white photo. "This person is Karasuma Renya's butler."
"It looks familiar," Akai Shuichi, now stripped of his disguise, stared at the photo thoughtfully. Behind the man who was clearly Karasuma Renya was a man with a broad, square face and an old-fashioned suit.
"He looks like the new clerk at Iroha Sushi Restaurant. I remember his name was—" Conan recalled for a moment and continued, "Wakita Kanenori."
Kudo Yusaku nodded, then moved his fingertips to a certain paragraph in the blurry text reports around him, a certain word, written in katakana: "That's right. The reporter mentioned in the article that this butler has an interesting 'nickname' - Rum. People close to him call him that."
In the face of Conan's sudden astonishment, Kudo Yusaku raised his head and swept his sharp eyes over everyone's faces: "That's right, Wakita Kanenori is just a pseudonym."
Kudo Yukiko suddenly interrupted, as if remembering something, "The appearance is fake too. Although Mr. Wakita Kensuke only did a simple disguise."
"Rum is impatient," Kudo Yusaku reminded: "TIME IS MONEY."
Now, not only Conan, but everyone except Rei Furuya showed a look of surprise - the Wakita Kanenori from Iroha Sushi Restaurant was actually Rum himself! The name "Wakita Kanenori" is a rearrangement of "TIME IS MONEY"!
Kudo Yusaku naturally noticed Furuya Rei's absent-minded look. Behind his slightly reflective lenses, a flash of understanding flashed across his eyes.
They still didn't know how much intelligence the public security had on the Black Organization. But at least now, Kudo Yusaku could conclude that Furuya Rei had seen Rum's true face.
Perhaps he didn't need their help at all. The evidence and intelligence he possessed had already given the Public Security Bureau the confidence to deal with the organization on its own. Kudo Yusaku observed Furuya Rei, looking thoughtful as he continued:
"Rum didn't exist a hundred years ago. It only started to appear in front of the camera at least fifty years ago."
As he spoke, he turned over the photocopied newspaper and pointed to a black-and-white photo that was much clearer than the previous one.
The man in the photo is still quite young, his eyes intact, but one can vaguely see traces of Wakita Kensuke. At the time, he was a representative of the Karasuma Group, giving media interviews. Everything was perfectly proper, and he seemed just another high-spirited young entrepreneur.
"The report mentioned that Wakita Kanesuke was the son of Karasuma Ren'ya's most trusted steward. His family had served the Karasuma clan for generations. Also, 'his companions used an amusing nickname for him - Rum.'"
At this point, it can be concluded that Wakita Kanenori inherited his father's code name "Rum".
So, if Olga is "Champagne", did she inherit this code name from someone?
Everyone's eyes followed Kudo Yusaku's and turned to Furuya Rei. He was sitting on the sofa with his arms folded, looking unconcerned, as if he didn't care about what they were talking about at all.
"Mr. Amuro?"
Under Conan's inquiring gaze, Furuya Rei simply said slowly and casually, "I haven't come into contact with such core secrets of the organization."
Really?
At least Kudo Yusaku didn't believe it. But they needed Furuya Rei's help right now.
So Kudo Yusaku lightly brushed aside the topic and took out a newer photocopy of the newspaper.
"This is a newspaper from twenty years ago."
This time, the newspaper was in English. Of course, as time went by, the printing became clearer, even though the photos were still in black and white.
Kudo Yusaku pointed his index finger at a photo:
"This is Karasuma Renya's grandson."
Furuya Rei could clearly hear the gasps in the living room. He finally leaned forward slightly, trying to read the newspaper more carefully. He was clearly more interested in this part of the content, and he made no secret of his interest.
The man in the black-and-white photo was still quite young, no more than thirty years old, and looked completely foreign, with three-dimensional features, thin cheeks, and a high-spirited look. Just like Rum in the previous photo. However, compared to Rum, this man had a more imposing aura of superiority.
This man's face looked familiar. Or rather, it felt like déjà vu.
Yes. This man looks a lot like Vermouth. Which means... he also looks a lot like Olga.
The photo was black and white. Furiya Rei glanced at the text beside it and quickly located the key words—the news article devoted an entire paragraph to praising his handsomeness—and the man in the photo had red hair, a rarity even in the West, and... green eyes.
Furiya Rei leaned back on the sofa, still folding his arms. He closed his eyes.
"The grandson of Karasuma Renya and the former and official heir of the Karasuma Group." Kudo Yusaku concluded.
"Ever?" Akai Mary frowned.
It was Akai Tsutomu, who had been silent the entire time, who suddenly spoke up. His voice was low and heavy, carrying a rare weight: "Actually, during the ten years or so since I was forced to 'disappear,' I also did some research."
Everyone's eyes fell on Akai Tsutomu. Compared to the profile photo, the man in the room now looked much older, his eyes more tired, and...
Something I can't understand.
Akai Tsutomu sighed. "That man in the photo is Champagne, for sure. Or rather, he used to be. I've dealt with him before."
He smiled wryly and pointed to the obvious, hideous scar on his right cheek: "I suffered quite a loss. You saw it too."
Then, Akai Tsutomu stood up from the sofa, took a half step forward, took out two color photos from a stack of color photos that Conan had prepared early in the morning, and placed them one by one next to the black and white photo on the photocopied newspaper.
One of the photos was in color, and it showed a young girl. Crimson hair, emerald eyes, and snow-white skin. She wore the blue uniform of Teitan High School. She was smiling, but her eyes held nothing, not even indifference.
The other color photo showed a woman who looked to be around thirty. She had long blond hair and blue eyes. She was also smiling. But those eyes weren't completely blank; at least, there was a hint of indifference.
Now, the comparison is very intuitive. When the three photos are put together, even someone who is not familiar with these three faces can see some clues.
"They really look alike!" Kudo Yukiko exclaimed, then looked at Conan, "What do you think? I said Arthas is Sharon's niece, right? Mom's judgment is definitely not wrong!"
"Yes, yes..." Conan's eyes became half-mooned. Even in such a serious moment, my mother was still so lively and relaxed.
Akai Tsutomu pointed at Vermouth: "Sharon Wynyard, or, Chris Wynyard. The granddaughter of Karasuma Renya. That is - Vermouth."
Then, pointing to the black and white photo: "Christopher Ambrose, grandson of Karasuma Renya. Formerly - Champagne."
Then, Akai Tsutomu skipped over Olga's introduction and changed the subject: "It is worth noting that Christopher suddenly disappeared ten years ago, and there is no trace of him left."
He even had the mood to make a joke that wasn't funny, shrugging and saying, "Just like me for the past decade or so."
Then, he got an ambiguous glance from Shuichi Akai and a loud slap on the back from Mari Akai.
"hiss--"
It was unclear whether the pain was real or fake, but Akai Tsutomu gasped, rubbed the area on his back where he was hit, and sat back on the sofa. At the same time, he concluded:
"I'm not sure if Christopher had an accident. After all, judging by his age, he should still be alive and well even if he hadn't taken that medicine. If he had taken it—"
Akai Tsutomu's eyes quickly passed over Conan: "Now we know that there are at least two genes that can allow people to survive under Drug A and stimulate the effects that Drug A is supposed to have."
His eyes fell on Akai Mari and he raised his index finger: "First of all, it's the genes of the Sera family."
In Akai Mari's seemingly calm eyes, Akai Wuwu said helplessly, "Perhaps it's because Elena used herself as a test subject during the research and development stage."
Akai Mari's expression remained expressionless. However, her fingers on her legs suddenly tightened, crinkling her pants. She had long ago warned Elena not to work for the Karasuma Group!
"The second gene," Akai Tsutomu raised his second finger, "the Karasuma family's gene."
After all, Karasuma Renya's original intention in developing Drug A was to achieve immortality. If the drug wasn't the primary goal, then this research would have been meaningless from the outset.
So, Vermouth, who possessed Karasuma family genes, stopped aging after taking Drug A. Similarly, the same thing happened to Christopher.
So why did Christopher suddenly disappear ten years ago?
There are two possibilities.
Kudo Yusaku analyzed: "He might have turned behind the scenes like Karasuma Renya."
After all, this is less risky.
"There's another possibility." Kudo Yusaku looked at Furuya Rei, "He's already dead."
Furuya Rei remained unfazed, seemingly unsurprised by their reasoning.
"Anyway," Kudo Yusaku's glasses reflected a white light, "Christopher no longer shows up, but Champagne is still active."
This almost makes it clear that Olga inherited the code name of Champagne and she is the current Champagne.
Of course, all of this must be based on the premise that Christopher is dead. If he is still alive, it is not impossible that he is issuing orders behind the scenes as Champagne.
But...
*
The memories end.
The expression in Fūya Rei's eyes changed again and again.
Finally, it turned into a silent sigh. He gently tucked the quilt for Olga and turned to leave.
Naturally, Rei Furuya would not see that the moment the door closed, Olga, who had been lying quietly on the bed, opened her eyes.
In the darkness, those emerald eyes took on a strange inky color.
*
Around seven in the morning, Rei Furuya was still asleep. He was woken by the ringing of the phone.
I glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Mao Lilan.
Of course, it is impossible that the naive and unworldly high school girl finally discovered that the key to Kudo's house in her hand had been replicated.
Furugaya Rei still answered the phone, using the gentle tone that belonged to Amuro Toru.
There was nothing big that Ran Mouri wanted to talk to Rei Furuya about. She just wanted to ask him if he was free today and whether he could accompany Kogoro Mouri and Conan to Nagano Prefecture.
"Originally, Sonoko and I were supposed to go with Dad, Conan, and the others. But Sonoko suddenly fell ill, and I had to go take care of her, so—" On the phone, Mao Lilan's tone was very apologetic, and she immediately said embarrassedly, "It's okay if it's inconvenient for you, Mr. Amuro!"
But Rei Furuya agreed.
Maybe he just wanted an excuse to get away for a while.
"I have no problem. It just so happens that Poirot is on vacation these days." Furuya Rei said in the gentle tone that belonged to Amuro Toru, even pretending to be eager to try. "You will definitely learn a lot by following Mr. Mori."
*
Of course, what Rei Furuya didn't expect was that Rum also followed him.
Apparently, Rum had also planted a bug in the Mori Detective Agency. So when Maori Kogoro mentioned that the invitation said there had to be exactly four people going, no more and no less, Rum, holding sushi, seemed to have just happened to show up.
So, Kogoro Mouri, Conan, Rei Furuya, and Rum boarded the Shinkansen to Nagano Prefecture together.
That's fine, thought Furuya Rei. At least when he was with Rum, he felt at ease.
Apparently, Conan thought the same thing. Even though the news that Kudo Shinichi was still alive had already been revealed, he still dared to appear in front of Rum, even using that childish tone and demeanor to try to extract information from Rum.
Unfortunately, compared to Conan, Rum is still too experienced. Even when facing Conan who looks like a child, he is flawless from beginning to end.
It wasn't that close to Nagano Prefecture. Along the way, it seemed only Maori Kogoro was oblivious to the subtle wit in the conversation, completely absorbed in his game of drawing joker cards.
"Great! I win again this time!" Maori Kogoro was really proud and said in a high-spirited tone, "How come you guys are such losers? Hahahaha!"
"As expected of Mr. Maori, he has the eyes of a detective and can easily see through the other person's heart." Furuya Rei arranged the cards in his hand and agreed half-heartedly.
In fact, Rum seems to still think that Maori Kogoro is not simple. There is no way, the information gap is too big, so that when Furuya Rei and Conan look at Rum now, they think he is stupid and a little pitiful.
Maori Kogoro didn't notice Furuya Rei's lack of attention, simply accepting all the compliments. He leaned back in his chair proudly, "I'm just really good at this! I always manage to avoid the joker and draw other safe cards."
"It would be even better if we could directly tell which card has the problem." Furuya Rei said with a smile.
"No, no, no,"
But it was Rum who suddenly spoke up.
"I wish I could have the ability to eliminate things like Master Kogoro, so I could know—"
He looked at Furuya Rei, as if hinting at something.
"Who is the one who betrayed me?"
It seemed he was dissatisfied with the information he had sent him about the Kudo family early yesterday morning. This also indirectly proved that the information he had provided was similar to the information Vermouth had given Rum.
In this situation, it seemed to Rum as if Bourbon and Vermouth were colluding to deceive him.
The atmosphere was awkward for a moment. Even Conan looked over with some concern. Furuya Rei, however, maintained his nonchalant smile, seemingly oblivious to Rum's sarcastic tone.
He was always like this, so calm that even the hot-tempered Rum found it difficult to get really angry with him.
So the next second, Rum changed the subject and ended the tense atmosphere himself: "-For example, which unscrupulous wholesaler sold me stale fish at a high price."
“As expected of a sushi chef.”
Furiya Rei's praise seemed to be sincere, which made Conan, who was sitting opposite him, twitch his mouth.
In fact, after the black tea meeting last night, although Conan knew that the "Wakita Kazenori" in front of him was Rum, the sense of oppression from Rum in his heart was not so strong.
The Karasuma family's servants for generations...
It is conceivable that if Rei Furuya revealed the information that "Rum is making tricks in the organization and trying to usurp the throne", Rum's image in Conan's heart will continue to decline.
Of course, Furuya Rei didn't tell them this information. In fact, during the black tea meeting last night, Furuya Rei didn't provide any substantive information at all. This was the point that Conan couldn't understand the most.
During the day, Kudo Yusaku said that he had a way to solve the problem of Kudo Shinichi's identity being exposed, and he also played a riddle with Conan, saying that he would know when he saw that person at night.
At night, Conan saw Furuya Rei. Kudo Yusaku must have calculated that he would appear at the Kudo residence at this time.
But Conan still doesn't understand why his father said that Furuya Rei can help them solve this dilemma. Obviously, Furuya Rei has been an outsider the whole time!
Except at the very end...
Conan shook his head and came back to his senses.
We have arrived in Nagano Prefecture.
The group first took a taxi and then walked. Finally, in early winter, they climbed a snowy mountain and arrived at an abandoned church on the top.
Then, five more people arrived at the church. They knew each other and seemed to be friends from high school. But strangely, they all seemed to think that the other party had called them there.
The strangest thing is that the invitation letter received by Kogoro Mouri was actually from a deceased person!
Immediately, the three people except Kogoro Mori realized that something was wrong.
The next second, a distinct explosion was heard. The parking lot collapsed. The car driven by the other five people was probably already tumbling down the cliff along with the rubble.
Maori Kogoro immediately called the Nagano Prefecture police and requested help. Unfortunately, the avalanche caused by the explosion blocked the tunnel leading up the mountain, and the police were unable to arrive.
In the isolated Snow Mountain Villa, even a serial murder case seems normal.
So soon, as if to fulfill its promise, two people were killed one after another in different ways.
Of course, this case wasn't difficult to solve. While solving the case, Rei Furuya and Conan accidentally glanced at each other, each seeing the same certainty in the other's eyes—Rum still didn't know Conan was Kudo Shinichi.
It was at this moment that Conan took out his cell phone and checked the internet.
He couldn't help but let out a sound of surprise, a surprise that came from the bottom of his heart.
Conan looked at Furuya Rei again, only to find him still as calm as ever. Meanwhile, Rum, standing nearby, came over uninvited and looked at Conan's phone screen.
Conan didn't block it.
The top trending search topic right now is a video of Kudo Shinichi appearing in a Teitan High School play three months ago. It appears to have been posted by Teitan High School's official account, debunking a rumor that Kudo Shinichi was being hunted by a sinister organization and had been missing for six months under an assumed name.
Conan still remembered that time. To dispel Ran's suspicions, he had to take a temporary antidote to grow larger. And Haibara disguised himself as him, and together with him, he made Kudo Shinichi and "Edogawa Conan" appear in front of Ran at the same time. It was that time with the Dark Knight.
Wait? So—
Conan continued to scroll through the video, and at a certain second, paused.
Sure enough, the camera captured the scene where Kudo Shinichi and "Edogawa Conan" appeared at the same time.
Conan was truly shocked. Regardless of where the video came from... he turned around and looked at Rum. He saw Rum also staring at the video, looking lost in thought.
This video was deliberately released at this time, obviously to prevent the organization from temporarily associating Conan and Kudo Shinichi.
In fact, this video is really effective - when Rum pretended to finish watching the fun, the look in his eyes when he looked at Conan changed - although it was still inquiring and suspicious, at least it was not as deep as before.
Perhaps, Rum really thought that after taking drug A, Kudo Shinichi produced an effect similar to that of Vermouth - stopping aging.
Of course, this was also because Rum had no idea of the intended effects of the drug A that Shirley was researching. Rum's understanding of drug A was still stuck on the Miyano couple's version of drug A.
*
Rum was intent on testing Kogoro Mori, Rei Furuya and Conan, so he naturally didn't know that before they went up the mountain, someone had already secretly gone up the mountain and arranged everything.
It was Olga and Pramya.
In fact, they had originally planned to use bombs to collapse the tunnels leading up and down the mountain, but unexpectedly, someone had taken action before them.
So they turned their attention to another matter.
"Your plan is too troublesome. Why don't you just let me blow the entire church into ruins?"
The fact that Pramya dared to say so showed that she could indeed do it.
"No, that's not necessary."
At this time, in a sufficiently hidden location, Olga was observing the situation inside the abandoned church with a telescope.
After some investigation, the seven remaining people in the church, including Rei Furuya and Rum, gathered in the chapel, sat around a fire, and started a fire.
Olga held out her left hand. Pramya handed her the already adjusted sniper rifle.
Then, Pramya looked at Olga, who had her sniper rifle ready, loaded, and was crawling on the ground, aiming. Suddenly, she seemed to realize something:
"Are you trying to save that man's life?" That's why you didn't let her blow the entire church into ruins once and for all?
Although it was a question, Pramya's tone was almost affirmative. Pramya remembered that she was caught and threatened by Olga in the beginning because she confronted four nosy policemen and blew up one of them with a grenade.
Now that I think about it, isn't the blond policeman who was blown up the same one who's pretending to be stupid in the church right now?!
And you still say it's unnecessary - it's clearly selfish!
Of course, Pramya would later obey Olga obediently. On the one hand, it was because she was threatened, but more importantly, as long as she had the protection of Olga and the organization behind her, Pramya would not have to worry about being arrested - she could continue her beloved bombing career.
Olga ignored Pramya. She took aim and decisively pulled the trigger.
"call out--"
But with the sound of bullets breaking through the air and the sound of glass breaking, a bullet hit the chair next to Rum, leaving a huge hole in the already rotten wood.
Everyone's eyes immediately became alert. Even the dumbest person would realize that something was wrong.
"Your shooting skills are not good either." Pramya held up the telescope and saw Olga's shot go wide. "Let me take it. Even if I can only use one hand, I won't miss so far."
"call out--"
While Pramya was complaining, Olga had already fired a second bullet. Still missing.
"Are you a master of human body outlining?" Pramya was shocked.
Then the third and fourth.
Olga fired four bullets, but only hit Rum's shoulder once, not a vital spot.
Now, in the chaos, the old guy has hidden in a blind spot.
Now, Pramya seemed to come to her senses. That blind spot was very close to where she was looking to install the bomb!
Did Olga intend to kill Rum with her bomb from the very beginning?
"Do you want to move to the backup shooting location?" Pramya asked tentatively.
They had prepared at least three shooting positions in advance. Although they couldn't aim at Rum from this position, they might be able to do so from other positions.
Olga shook her head, removed the few remaining bullets from the sniper rifle, and casually put them in her pocket. She then handed the empty rifle toward Pramya.
Now, Pramya confirmed her suspicions—Olga was planning to kill Rum. Those initial, seemingly out-of-focus sniping attacks were actually just to force Rum into that position.
Tsk. So, she wasn't actually a sniper wimp. On the contrary, she must be very skilled at it, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to trick Rum into her desired location so accurately.
What an enviable jack of all trades! Is there anything she's not good at? Pramya pondered this as she deftly disassembled the sniper rifle with one hand and put the parts back into the gun case disguised as a guitar case.
Then she saw Olga take out her cell phone.
In the falling snow, she didn't feel cold. She bit the tip of her glove, took off one glove, and tapped the screen a few times with her fingertips.
It's a quick call.
She pressed the phone to her ear.
Two seconds later: "Zero Zero."
Pramya watched with interest through the binoculars as the blond man in the abandoned church answered the phone and walked out. Sure enough, she was doing it for that man. The reason she wasn't allowed to press the detonator right away was to wait for him to get to a safe place.
Pramya wondered excitedly what would happen if she pressed the detonator right now, killing the blond man along with him. Would Olga, who usually had no expression, cry? Would she show that expression of grief that made her unable to control herself?
Of course, Pramya only dared to think about it. She had seen Olga's methods with her own eyes and would not cause trouble for herself.
Then, Pramya saw Olga raise her right hand.
At some point, the hand in the black deerskin glove made a gesture.
Pramya, who had been eager to make a move, finally showed an excited expression on her face.
Standing outside the abandoned church, Rei Furuya didn't hear the voice on the other end of the phone and realized something was wrong almost immediately.
The next second,
"Bang--!!!"
As Pramya pressed the remote control, a rolling heat wave came from behind her, accompanied by flames shooting into the sky and scattered brick and stone fragments.
Furuya Rei instinctively raised his free hand to shield his eyes. A sudden burst of scorching air blew his hair back, and in the pink and blue light, the surrounding snow seemed to melt away instantly.
He had seen this type of bomb before.
Yes, Matsuda mentioned that the bomber is now in Olga's hands.
It was not until this moment that Olga's voice came from the phone, bringing Rei Furuya back to his senses.
Rei Furuya had just experienced a close-range explosion, and his hearing was still a little blurry. Olga always spoke softly, but he could still hear her words clearly.
Or maybe, he was just so familiar with her that he could accurately guess every word she said based on the tone of her voice.
"Remember, it was Gin who called."
She said so.
*
Behind Rei Furuya was a ruin.
The snow had stopped, and the sun was beginning to rise. The flames from the explosion gradually died down under the snow. It wasn't a particularly high-yield bomb.
All around, melted snow flowed on the dusty land, and the pure white color was stained messily, but it still reflected a dazzling white light under the sun.
Not only Rum, but everyone else, including Maori Kogoro and Conan, were buried under the rubble.
I don't know if they are still alive.
The detonation point should be closest to Rum, still some distance away from Maori Kogoro and Conan. However, the explosive charge was not large, otherwise it wouldn't have been easily extinguished by the snow.
Rei Furuya reached the ruins, bent down, and lifted a nearly rotten wooden beam. It wasn't heavy, but the rough wood rubbed painfully against his hand, and almost instantly, a dirty splinter pierced his skin.
Fūya Rei threw the wooden beam onto the open space beside him, instantly raising a large cloud of dust.
He had to step back a few steps and cover his mouth and nose.
He didn't understand Olga's purpose in doing this.
She was obviously targeting Rum. But if she really wanted to kill Rum, with Olga's shooting skills, the first bullet would be enough to finish him off.
Yes, shooting skills.
Looking at the dusty ruins before him, Furuya Rei frowned slightly, a complex emotion flickering across his eyes. Then, in an instant, he regained his composure.
Olga's left hand...
It should be fine now.
Fortunately, after the weather cleared up, Furuya Rei did not have to wait too long on the mountain. The police from Nagano Prefecture quickly cleared the tunnel and rushed over.
Even though Rum's life or death was unknown, Furuya Rei wisely kept his distance from Morobushi Takaaki. They pretended not to know each other, as if they were strangers meeting for the first time.
*
On the other side, Olga and Pramya walked down the mountain from the path behind the mountain.
They walked through the dense, snow-covered forest. The path was steep and slippery. The sun's glare from the snow made it nearly impossible to open your eyes.
Olga walked slowly. Pramya followed beside her, sniper rifle strapped to her back. She didn't complain about her pace, but was still brooding over the explosion.
"This is the first time a bomb I've built hasn't killed the target."
Yes, from the very beginning, Olga hadn't intended to actually blow Rum up. Even though she had deliberately tricked Rum into getting closer to the detonation point, she had her own plan.
As for whether Rum will be killed by the collapsed building?
Olga had calculated the structure of the abandoned church beforehand. It was only a rough calculation, but given Rum's position, he wouldn't be killed by the impact, only likely breaking a few bones.
Don't take Rum's life too seriously.
Even if he was killed in the explosion, Olga thought, it would only take some time to revise the plan.
*
The rescue work lasted the entire afternoon.
Even though the tunnel leading up the mountain has been cleared, it is a mountain road that has not undergone much infrastructure construction. Things like excavators cannot be driven up in such weather for a while.
Yamato Gansuke had no choice but to mobilize more police and request support from local firefighters. A large group of people, relying on their bare hands and basic tools like shovels and hammers, dug out all the people buried under the rubble.
Fortunately, the number of people buried was not large to begin with, and they were all gathered in one place when the explosion occurred. Moreover—
Yamato Gansuke looked at the young man behind him, who was wearing a dark grey wool coat. He had blond hair, indifferent grey-blue eyes, a handsome face and an upright figure.
From beginning to end, he just stood at the back of the crowd with his hands in his pockets, waiting quietly. Apart from accurately pointing out the location where the victims were buried at the beginning, he never said a word.
She stood there quietly, amidst the gradually melting snow, observing everything with her gray-blue eyes, as if nothing had happened. She felt quite isolated and detached from the world.
Even without further investigation, the result was obvious - a man-made, premeditated explosion had occurred here.
As the only person who remained unscathed, Yamato Gansuke looked at Furuya Rei without hesitation, his eyes filled with obvious inquiry. Furuya Rei was undoubtedly the most suspicious.
Why wasn't he in the church when the explosion happened?
Are there really such lucky people in the world?
Yamato dares to help but doesn’t believe it.
This person didn't even tell them his name.
As the sky darkened, the police dug six people from the rubble, which was consistent with what Rei Furuya had said.
Among them, Maori Kogoro and Conan, who were familiar with Yamato Gansuke, were only slightly injured. They were already alive and kicking after being dug out.
A middle-aged man wearing an eye patch who was traveling with them was, according to Maori Kogoro, a sushi chef named Wakita Kensuke. He was slightly more seriously injured. When he was dug out, his left arm was twisted in an extremely abnormal position.
It is worth noting that there is a bloody hole the size of a bowl on the man's left shoulder, embedded with brick and stone debris, and bleeding continuously.
Therefore, even Yamato Gansuke couldn't help but marvel at the fact that this person was still conscious when he was dug out from the rubble.
Then, he received the man's gloomy gaze, although it was only a fleeting look, as if it was just an illusion. However, it was more sinister than the most vicious criminal he had ever seen.
Yamato Gansuke immediately shuddered. This was a natural human reaction. Of course, he attributed it to his own impolite gaze and the cold air on the top of the mountain.
After all, anyone who has just escaped death would be unhappy if they were looked at as if they were an exotic animal, right?
Three other people were dug out, two of whom had no pulse and were pronounced dead on the spot. The third had been hit on the head by a rock and passed out, with no idea if he would ever wake up.
According to Kogoro Mouri and Conan, the murderer of the previous serial murder case was one of the two people who died on the spot.
As for the bodies of the two unfortunate people he killed—
"We can only continue tomorrow."
Yamato Gansuke looked up at the sky divided into red and black by the setting sun and made a decision.
Conditions on the mountain were very poor, including lighting at night, so it was unwise to leave the rescuers there to search for two bodies in the rubble overnight.
Ambulances came one after another and took away the survivors one by one, including the slightly injured Conan and Maori Kogoro. Finally——
Yamato Gansuke looked at Furuya Rei. He had already turned around and was quite naturally planning to follow the police car down the mountain.
"wait--"
Yamato Gansuke was about to step forward to question the suspicious person when a hand suddenly stretched out from the side and blocked his way.
Yamato Gansuke turned around in confusion: "Great?"
Zhu Fu Gaoming just shook his head at him imperceptibly without explaining anything.
Yamato Gansuke couldn't help but frown when he saw this.
He looked in the direction of Fūya Rei again, but the man had already put one hand in his pocket, opened the back seat of a police car very naturally, and sat in like the owner.
In the end, Yamato Gansuke did not go forward to ask. He chose to trust his friend unconditionally.
*
Needless to say, Rum was furious.
In fact, after coming down the mountain, he quickly used the excuse of an emergency at home to escape the police's sight and was transferred directly to a private hospital in Nagano Prefecture funded by the Karasuma Group and admitted to a high-end ward.
At this moment, he was leaning against the bed in the VIP ward, his face clearly showing anger and ferocity. He could even be described as furious.
Fūya Rei stood five steps away from the bed, his hands still in his pockets, as if he was still cold even in this luxurious, heated ward.
Between him and Rum stood three men in black. They were armed and on guard, but they weren't pointing their guns directly at him. These were Rum's trusted men.
Furuya Rei didn't respond to Rum's roar. He simply lowered his eyes slightly, his long eyelashes casting a shadow over his gray-blue eyes, making it difficult to discern the specific emotions within.
From beginning to end, Rei Furuya's performance was very calm, so calm that he seemed indifferent.
Rum had finally vented his anger. The floor was littered with broken objects, and the once pristine white walls of the VIP ward were now chipped in several places, now stained with plaster.
Amidst the chaos, Rum seemed to have regained some of his sanity.
But he was still angry, which could be heard from his high-pitched voice.
"Is it Arthas!?" He asked Fūya Rei loudly, not even looking at the fact that his entire left arm was seriously injured.
He waved his intact right hand, his voice trembling with excitement. Without even looking up, Rei Furuya knew that Rum's intact right eye was bulging outward, bloodshot and grimacing.
"Did that ** call you!?"
That's a really bad word. At some point, Furuya Rei finally raised his eyes.
For a moment, even Rum was startled by what flashed in those gray-blue eyes.
When he tried to distinguish them carefully again, there was only the usual indifference in those eyes, just staring at him quietly, as if he was just scaring himself with an illusion he had imagined.
Rum didn't know what had just happened to him. How could he be afraid of Bourbon? How could he be frightened by Bourbon?
"Is it Arthas," Rum's voice lowered, but with some self-proclaimed gentle persuasion, "Is she trying to kill me, Bourbon?"
But suddenly, Jōgō Gōryō raised the corner of his mouth, a small arc.
Under Rum's gaze, Furuya Rei finally took his right hand out of his coat pocket, still holding a cell phone.
"Actually,"
Rum heard Bourbon say in that leisurely voice,
"The person who called me—was Gin."
In an instant, Rum's eyes turned sinister.
A man in black immediately snatched Furiya Rei's phone and respectfully handed it to Rum with both hands.
When Rei Furuya claimed that it was Gin who called him, Rum naturally didn't believe it. He had always been aware of the discord between Gin and Bourbon.
However, Rum was a suspicious person. Furuya Rei's words had planted a seed of doubt in his heart, leaving him with a subconscious mind that held another possibility.
It seemed that Rei Furuya had already unlocked his phone screen. Therefore, Rum smoothly opened the call log page, and then—
He angrily threw the poor phone. It hit the snow-white wall, leaving a small, gray dent. Then, it landed on the tiled floor. Instantly, cracks crawled up the phone screen like spiderwebs.
After a moment of dead silence, Fūya Rei bent down to pick up his phone, brushed off the dust on its surface, and put it back in his pocket.
Furuya Rei knew very well the reason for Rum's anger.
He had checked the call logs before going down the mountain - the call before the explosion was indeed from Gin.
At that moment, Rei Furuya smiled without even noticing. It was quite amusing. How did she do that?
*
Almost at the same time that Rum smashed Rei Furuya's phone into pieces in a fit of rage, Olga received a call. From—
"Kil."
Kiel was obviously trying to lower his voice, sounding very cautious, and his words were very short:
"Gin was just executing a traitor. As you requested, I used Gin's phone to forward the calls. The traces have been cleaned up and no traces have been found."
"Well done."
At that time, Olga was in a suite on the upper floors of a luxury hotel in Nagano Prefecture.
She had just taken a hot bath and was wearing a white bathrobe, her exposed skin dyed a light pink by the heat.
She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, taking in the magnificent sight of the snow-capped mountains in the distance and the early winter scenery of Nagano Prefecture.
In her right hand she held a can of iced Coke, with drops of water condensing on the outside of the can due to the temperature difference.
After a brief silence, Kiel couldn't help but ask:
"What do you want to do?"
Olga smiled.
"It's a just thing."
She raised her chin and took a sip of Coke. Kiel could sense that the voice on the other end of the line was even brisk:
"Gin and Rum, no matter which one dies, you will be very happy, right?"
I'm not happy. Olga had already hung up the phone. Kiel listened to the dead tone and muttered to himself, "It would be more meaningful for us to capture them alive."
*
Naturally, Rei Furuya was quickly kicked out of the ward by Rum.
Thanks to Rum's unpredictable expression at the time, Fūya Rei vaguely guessed Olga's plan.
He put his hands back into his coat pockets and walked alone in the silent corridor of the hospital. The heels of his leather shoes stomped on the tiled floor of the hospital, making a heart-wrenching sound in the closed and empty corridor.
Meanwhile, the VIP ward fell into a dead silence. Rum sat on the bed, head bowed, his expression unpredictable.
Did that gentleman discover it?
Did that gentleman discover that he had two minds?
That's why I sent Gin to kill him...
Come to think of it, using bombs is more in line with Gin's style than that brat from Arthas.
Gin is on that gentleman's side, no doubt about it. He is absolutely loyal to that gentleman.
And Bourbon.
It was normal for that gentleman to think highly of Bourbon and ask Gin to spare his life.
Finally, on this early winter night, in a high-end ward in Nagano Prefecture, the suspicious Rum found his own logic in his suspicions.
He suddenly clutched the white quilt covering his body tightly, his eyes bloodshot.
Gin and wine.
The weak wield their swords against the weaker. And Rum, even though he had the unrighteous intention of seizing power, always feared the existence of Karasuma Renya.
*
On the morning of the second day, on the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, there were only three of us left out of the four people we had come with.
“Really?”
Maori Kogoro had seven stitches on one arm and could only put his other arm on his waist. He complained loudly without caring that he was in a public place.
"That guy Wakita Kanenori was so badly injured, yet he actually rushed back to Tokyo overnight!"
In response, Furuya Rei just smiled. Conan, who was sitting next to Maori Kogoro with a bandage on his head, had no interest in paying any attention to him.
They all knew that Wakita Kanenori was Rum, except for Mori Kogoro.
After this happened, Rum naturally would not go with them anymore and take this uncomfortable second-class Shinkansen seat back to Tokyo.
only--
Conan looked at Furuya Rei, but saw that he also seemed to be in a trance.
This explosion...
Conan held his chin with one hand, lowered his head slightly, and seemed to be thinking about something.
Could it be that person?
Meanwhile, Fūya Rei, who was in a trance, once again recalled the content of the red tea meeting that day.
After analyzing Champagne's identity, which Kyougu Ling was not interested in, the few people finally remembered Rum.
At the end of the meeting, they worked out a date and plan for capturing Rum, and Rei Furuya, who had previously shown little interest, also joined in.
He admitted that Kudo Yusaku's plan was very good. However,
Even the best plans would be meaningless if Rum couldn't be captured alive.
If Rum Dies...
Furuya Rei turned his head to look out the window, watching the cityscape rapidly recede as the Shinkansen hurtled past. In the slightly glaring morning sun, he saw his own blurry reflection in the clear glass. He looked into those gray-blue eyes. So cold, so calm.
Like an outsider spectator.
But anyway,
Rum cannot die.
For the police, arresting Rum alive was more meaningful. Rum's body was worthless to them.
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