Chapter 275 Seventy-Third Cycle (105)
Coastal highway.
“I feel like I’ve seen that man’s face somewhere before,” Cohen said suddenly, touching the gun in his hand.
This gun won't kill you when it hits you; it emits electric current and its purpose is to reveal the player's true appearance.
"Huh?" Chianti next to her turned around instantly. "Who is it? You know someone from the FBI? When did you cross paths with them?"
Cohen shook his head: "I can't remember."
"Is it someone from the FBI's top brass?" Vermouth's voice suddenly came through the earpiece. "I was just wondering, that guy sometimes seems stupid, and other times he's ridiculously smart, like he's got the entire FBI's brains guiding him."
Kiel added, "It's possible. Didn't Scotland just say they detected the FBI intrusion? Maybe they've already made contact with that person?"
Inside the black Porsche.
Gin sneered, "Very well, then I'll definitely see what that person's face looks like."
"But where do we look?" Vodka asked, troubled. "The data from Scotland only shows whether people are dead or alive, not their exact location. Are we really going to have to search for them in the ocean like looking for a needle in a haystack?"
“No need.” A Scottish voice suddenly came from the blue eyeball in the air. “I think I know where he is.”
Gin suddenly turned his head, narrowing his eyes slightly: "What do you mean?"
“The game’s data is designed entirely according to the real world. At this time and place, the current in Tokyo Bay is flowing towards Umizaru Island,” Scotland said. “There have been cases in the past where bodies that fell into the sea were washed ashore by the current. I have not received any information that he appeared on the shore. The only way he could have survived is that he swam to Umizaru Island with the current.”
Vodka suddenly realized, and for what seemed like the umpteenth time since entering the game, he exclaimed, "No wonder it's Scotland, they're amazing!"
Gin's face darkened further: "There's no need to keep praising him!"
Scotland chuckled lightly: "Go ahead, I've already prepared the yacht for you. After you've dealt with this, you can go and meet up with Bourbon."
Vermouth asked, "What is Bourbon doing? Why isn't he saying anything in the group chat?"
"Maybe he's unhappy because he can't participate in the hunt for the FBI," Scotland said.
The group: "..."
*
“They did indeed come ashore to search,” Cameron whispered into his earpiece. “Looks like they really can tell whether I’m dead or alive.”
“Yes, keep them occupied for a little longer. The invasion over there is only two steps away.” Shuichi Akai patiently explained to him how to evade the organization’s pursuit on the island.
But just then, Vodka and Chianti suddenly entered the room and began searching.
Carmel carefully crouched down, listening to their conversation as he quietly moved toward the back door.
Vodka said, "Scotland is really amazing. I didn't expect there to actually be traces of that FBI rat on the island."
Chianti rolled her eyes: "Alright, alright, stop praising him. Didn't you see how angry Gin was before? Speaking of which, I haven't seen him in a long time. Do you know where he is or what he's doing now?"
“Yeah, I know him,” Vodka said with a smile. “I happened to run into him before.”
Carmel immediately perked up his ears to listen intently, even ignoring Mr. Akai's urging him to leave quickly.
“Scottish guy, he’s got some kind of messy disguise now, changed his identity and’s sticking around with Bourbon.” Vodka chuckled as he said this, “Seriously, you shouldn’t have seen him like that, especially those glasses, they were absolutely hilarious…”
Carmel opened his eyes wide.
Some random disguise? The guy with glasses next to Bourbon?
*
"Hey, Ai." Professor Agasa crouched down next to Ai Haibara, covering his mouth and whispering, "Since that blond tour guide might be Bourbon, could that dangerous Scottish guy also be with him? Could it be that bespectacled man who just disappeared with him?"
“They’re not working together.” Ai Haibara shook her head. “That man was observing the escape route the whole time. He couldn’t slip away because Bourbon was there. His target should be the laboratory on the neighboring Mount Hachijo. The way he’s acting so sneakily, he shouldn’t be a member of the organization.”
"Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!" The long-haired woman rushed over in a panic, stammering, "The tour guide—he—he—"
The two police officers on leave immediately stood up.
"What's wrong with him?" Shibata Jun asked.
"What happened?" Hayami Jun asked.
“He…” Rumi Wakasa squeezed out terrified tears, “He accidentally fell off a cliff… What should we do…”
Shibata Jun and Hayami Jun's eyes widened instantly: "What?!"
Ai Haibara and Professor Agasa were also taken aback.
As the group hurried over, they listened to the woman's incoherent narration.
When the two came out of the warehouse, they had taken a lot of things. In addition, the woods next to the warehouse were probably too dark. She didn't see the stone clearly and accidentally tripped and bumped into the blonde tour guide. Then the tour guide was unlucky enough to fall off the cliff hidden by the grass next to him.
Although the cliff wasn't very high, it was very dark below, and you couldn't see anything, which felt quite dangerous.
Fortunately, the sound of water could be heard, indicating there was probably a river below, and the person might still be alive.
Although it's a game, the two characters are police NPCs, while the other two are players who are aware that the game is dangerous. Their expressions are quite solemn at this moment.
"How about..." the long-haired woman said guiltily, "we split up to look for him? That way it'll be faster."
Although separating might be a bit risky, it would definitely be faster.
To compromise, it would be best to call the police and get help first, then search in pairs.
However, Scorpion had already secretly run away, leaving only Wakasa Rumi in a group. She insisted on going to find him alone, citing her deep guilt and worry.
After they parted, the look of shame and worry on her face vanished instantly, and she ran expressionlessly toward the nearby Mount Fuji.
*
Gin never expected that Vodka and Chianti would discover that the FBI could still let someone escape.
He wasn't in the mood to berate Vodka and Chianti for failing to capture an injured FBI agent; he simply crouched down and surveyed the room, quickly arriving at his answer.
“These coffee beans weren’t a trap he set on purpose; they just happened to become an obstacle to your pursuit.” Gin stood up. “He took the bag of coffee, and there are signs that the straw bag over there has been tampered with. He was going to use those things to dig a hole and hide himself in the dirt.”
The silver-haired man suddenly turned around, his black trench coat fluttering in the island wind.
"Let's go! We'll dig up every inch of the island and find that rat!" he shouted. "After we find him, don't kill him yet. Use that gun to see what he really looks like!"
Vodka was about to give a loud "yes" when he was interrupted by the cold voice of the blue-eyed man.
“Wait a minute,” Scotland said. “That’s too much trouble and too slow. I have a faster way.”
Gin frowned, displeased, and asked, "What method?"
"Set it on fire." Scotland's mood seemed to turn sour instantly. Without explanation, he directly ordered, "Burn Sea Monkey Island."
*
Ai Haibara did not find the blonde guide in the canyon.
However, traces of him were indeed found, with wet watermarks extending from the riverbank all the way to the woods on the mountainside.
Ai Haibara looked up and saw Mount Hachijo Fuji, which looked remarkably similar to Mount Fuji.
“He should be fine,” Ai Haibara muttered to herself. “He might even have done it on purpose. Now we have a legitimate reason to enter Mount Hachijo.”
Professor Agasa hesitated, "Should we go? Will it be dangerous? Didn't Shin...Arthur tell us not to go to dangerous places or participate in dangerous activities?"
“How can we gather core intelligence if we don’t get closer?” Ai Haibara said. “He needs our intelligence too, doesn’t he?”
"Don't run away from your destiny," she told herself again.
*
"Wait, someone's here." Mary Akai suddenly reached out and stopped Masumi Sera.
Sera Masumi looked in the direction she was staring at, and it took a full minute before she saw anyone appear.
It was a black-haired girl and a curly-haired young man.
“Ah, it’s them.” Sera Masumi paused for a moment, then explained to her mother, “The black-haired girl is Ai Haibara, and the curly-haired young man is Professor Agasa. I overheard Professor Agasa calling her Ai when I was with them before.”
Mary Akai pondered for two seconds, then whispered, "Let's take a detour, pretend to bump into them by chance, and follow them."
Sera Masumi also shared this sentiment, grinning as she said, "Great! I also think they must know some inside information, especially since the pharmaceutical company on this mountain is none other than Shirakage Pharmaceuticals."
Mary Akai's expression instantly darkened: "I wonder what they're trying to do by bringing up this name..."
Her younger sister, Elena, worked at Shirahata Pharmaceuticals 30 years ago, and later met and married Atsushi Miyano.
However, Baijiu Pharmaceuticals went bankrupt not long after, so the couple returned to their hometown, opened a clinic, and had a daughter.
Nineteen years ago, they accepted an invitation from the Karasuma Group and were tricked into joining the organization, where their personal freedom was controlled to conduct drug research.
Seventeen years ago, the APTX-4869 poison they developed first appeared and killed Koji Haneda. She has now also taken that drug, and although she didn't die, she has miraculously turned into a child's body.
In the same year, Elena and her husband both died in a fire, the details of which are unknown, leaving behind only two children.
A woman named Akemi Miyano is dead.
One of them is named Shiho Miyano, codenamed Sherry. After defecting, she also took APTX-4869 and shrunk. She is now living in the house of Professor Agasa under the identity of Ai Haibara.
So, what exactly is the organization's purpose in revealing this game and Hakuju Pharmaceutical to the world now?
*
"It seems we've underestimated the organization's strength all along," Yusaku Kudo said with a serious expression.
The others were also unusually quiet, their feelings complicated.
This refers not only to the terrifying plans and forces the organization has revealed in the past few days, but also to the person behind the scenes who commands the organization's members and fights against them.
It seemed as if their every move was predicted by the other side, who acted almost one step ahead of them every time, even leading them unwittingly into a deadly trap.
Conan Edogawa, sitting in the passenger seat of Shuichi Akai's car, heard these words through his earpiece and nodded in response.
He thought the person must be from Scotland.
And he did indeed underestimate Scotland a bit.
Just now, a huge fire suddenly broke out on Sea Monkey Island. It's obvious that the organization did it.
Carmel's first reaction was that this was great. If he pretended to be burned to death, wouldn't that mean he could fake his death and not actually die from being hit by the organization's Raven Gun? He could also buy himself more time by hiding under the mud and waiting for the island to burn completely.
As soon as he said this, Conan Edogawa was so shocked that he almost jumped up, and he rejected the idea at almost the same time as Shuichi Akai and Yusaku Kudo.
All three of them suspected that this was yet another test from the organization.
From the perspective of an unsuspecting player, if they were being chased to this extent and then encountered arson, even knowing there was an ambush outside, they would still try to break through with a sliver of hope.
Because Carmel should not have known the difference between dying a normal death and dying by Raven's Spear.
If Carmel fails to take appropriate action, the organization will not only be able to find his account again and continue the hunt, but will also be able to confirm that the FBI is aware of the role of Raven's Gun.
However, breaking through directly is not an option either.
Time was too short. The FBI hadn't successfully hacked in yet. If Carmel ran out, he would not only run into the lurking wolves and die, but exposing his true face would be even more dangerous.
—Kier secretly called Shuichi Akai and said that someone in the organization had seen Camel's face.
If the organization finds out that Camer is still alive, her undercover identity will be exposed.
Therefore, if Shuichi Akai is unable to save Camel, she will shoot Camel in the face first when Camel is captured by the organization.
Even if disfiguring Cameron's face would arouse suspicion within the organization, it would be better than directly exposing his identity.
Shuichi Akai agreed.
But he doesn't really intend to give up on Camer.
The car stopped on the coastal road. Shuichi Akai and Conan Edogawa, who was next to him, exchanged a glance, got out of the car, and walked towards the shore directly opposite Umizaru Island.
There are still solutions.
*
Ai Haibara's nerves were constantly on edge.
Especially after encountering those two women on the way, he was almost furious at their overly obvious probing.
She knew Sera Masumi's identity, but she didn't know who the cold and sharp-looking woman beside her was; she just felt that she was in danger.
Moreover, the woman looked at her very strangely.
Even though it was our first meeting, it felt like we had known each other for a long time.
Is this someone I've seen before?
But her current appearance is completely different from her real appearance.
Perhaps sensing that she was too wary, the two exchanged a glance and quickly gave up trying to probe her family, pretending to be focused on exploring the research institute at Mount Hachijo.
Until they stood in front of the research institute.
Ai Haibara looked up, saw the name of the research institute, and her eyes slowly widened.
Baijiu Pharmaceutical?
She stood there stiffly for a moment, then suddenly grabbed Professor Agasa's hand and abruptly turned back.
Mary Akai gave Sera Masumi a wink.
Sera Masumi nodded and turned to chase after Ai Haibara.
Mary Akai then slipped into the research institute with lightning speed.
Having finally escaped that frail body, she can do so many things.
After Sera Masumi caught up with Ai Haibara, she didn't gently give her time to recover. Instead, she took advantage of her emotional turmoil and suddenly asked, "Have you and that blond, dark-skinned man known each other since childhood?"
Ai Haibara paused for a moment, a genuine look of confusion on her face: "?"
Who? Bourbon? Why would you suspect they've known each other since childhood?
Sera Masumi observed carefully and had to confirm that she seemed genuinely confused, even finding the question absurd.
She was a little disappointed that her and her mother's guesses were wrong.
So, wasn't that Bourbon the blonde kid who followed Miyano Elena into the organization from a young age?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
