Chapter 276, Seventy-Third Cycle (106)
"Officer! This is it!"
A random NPC and a police NPC are running towards us from the front.
"It's Namikaze Park up ahead! I really heard several gunshots! I originally wanted to come and see how Umizaru Island burned down, but I didn't dare to go in! I think it might be related to the fire on Umizaru Island, maybe it's a gangland shootout?"
The two passed a man carrying a fishing rod and a boy carrying a stool, and as they got closer, they could hear their conversation.
The boy looked up and said, "I didn't catch a single fish today, Dad."
The man lowered his head and smiled helplessly, "Yeah, I didn't expect to go back empty-handed. But it seems a bit dangerous here, let's go home."
The boy looked like he hadn't had enough fun.
The man thought for a moment, then said, "How about this? We still have time. Why don't we go see some whales near Hachijo Island? We can still catch the last boat."
The boy immediately jumped up happily: "Yay! Daddy's the best!!!"
The police NPC withdrew its suspicious gaze.
The two players who also saw the flames and heard the gunshots also overheard their conversation. After sending out a scout, they discovered that the other person was indeed a player, and immediately came over to greet them.
One of the more lively ones lowered his voice and said, "Hey bro, are you guys going to participate in the Pacific Buoy instance too?"
Akai Shuichi nodded: "Yeah, we weren't planning on participating in that mission. We were a bit scared by the previous dungeons, so we just planned to sit here and fish until the game was over."
Another taciturn player immediately nodded: "Me too, we didn't expect to encounter something even more dangerous here, so we're a little worried..."
Conan Edogawa continued, "Are you worried about being punished by the system for playing passively? That's what we're thinking too. And looking at the news online, past players say it doesn't seem dangerous at all, and it's actually quite fun and exciting, so we're planning to go check it out. As long as we don't go to the most dangerous core area, we should be fine. Like the previous two dungeons, once you cleared them, other players outside the core area were also brought out with you. If you stay outside, who knows what might happen?"
The two players agreed and decided to go with them on the last boat to see the whales.
During their casual conversation on the way, the two players marveled at Arthur's prowess and asked him if he would reach the very front of the game this time.
Conan Edogawa nodded, then said with a troubled expression, "Since I'm already going, I'd like to just get involved directly, but I don't know how to get into the Pacific buoy now."
The lively player blinked. "I've already found out. On the surface, that Pacific buoy is supposedly a large-scale marine facility that Interpol is preparing to link with police surveillance around the world. It's also supposedly a large international organization that actually exists, although it's not finished yet. But this seems to be just the surface information. At least in the game, that place is definitely the villain's base, right? Just like the previous three dungeons, it should be some kind of laboratory?"
Conan Edogawa nodded: "The information I received is the same. It's somewhat similar to the Twilight Villa. Tomorrow is the day when the Pacific buoys will be connected to Europol. For this purpose, engineers from all over the world have gathered here to test a certain technology."
Shuichi Akai continued, "So there are roughly three ways for players to enter the dungeon."
"First, obtain an engineer status that is sufficient to be invited."
"Second, pretend to go to see the nearby whales and sneak in."
"Third, join the organization and be taken in as an employee by the villainous black camp to work."
The first method either involves using advanced technology or connections to obtain a fake identity and temporary work, or it involves starting with the protagonist's red camp and hoping to directly rely on the power of the state to obtain an identity and get things done.
But none of the four of them are suitable.
Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai were on edge and cautious because of the previous organization's pursuit of the FBI. They did not contact the police or the organization, nor did they dare to try to obtain an identity.
The other two players were definitely not ordinary people, but they didn't want to get involved in the dangerous vortex again and wanted to stay away from the core of the game, so they didn't bother to create any identities.
As for the remaining two methods...
"that……"
The two players exchanged a glance, and finally gritted their teeth and looked at them.
"Actually, we have another piece of information: this game allows you to go undercover."
Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai: "?"
The taciturn player cracked his knuckles, then lowered his head and said, "I... I originally joined the organization's black faction, but then I happened to meet Ishihara Yujiro from the protagonist group, so I tried to ask him for help. Before I revealed the organization's information, the system presented three options: stick with the faction, switch factions, or go undercover."
Akai Shuichi: "..."
The lively player said, "We are childhood friends who grew up together in real life. I chose the protagonist's red camp, but later I found out that he accidentally chose the wrong camp, so we simply joined the protagonist's camp together. He is now an undercover agent. We probably still have some connections with the police, so we might be able to get directly into the Pacific buoy."
Conan Edogawa understood.
The introverted player's family is not simple; they were chosen by the organization and forced to join, but only temporarily, and they are very afraid.
The lively player was his childhood friend, so even though she knew some of the inside information, she stayed with him in the organization.
Conan Edogawa pressed further, "After you chose to go undercover, didn't you encounter any danger? Didn't the organization discover you?"
The introverted player shook his head: "After joining the organization, I'm just a low-level member. If I say I'm weak and can't do the tasks well, they don't seem to care much about me. Besides, the members of this organization don't communicate much with each other. I don't know much about them, and the people in the organization don't know me either."
Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai exchanged a glance, instantly realizing that the other had the same idea.
Shuichi Akai turned to the two of them and smiled, "I'll pass, I don't really want to go inside the dungeon either, but this kid really wants to try. Can you help him? He's actually pretty good at this game, you've seen his performance before, he might be able to clear this dungeon again."
The two players hesitated for a moment when they looked at the boy's obedient and innocent face.
But considering that Arthur, despite being just a teenager, might be more powerful than the two of them combined, and that they might need him to clear the game this time, they finally agreed to help him enter the Pacific buoy.
So, they need to contact Yujiro Ishihara first.
They also couldn't guarantee whether they could get Conan Edogawa into that tightly controlled Interpol organization.
Conan Edogawa smiled and said it was fine, just bring him along when you talk, he has a plan.
After all, Arthur in the game is just a young detective. He has neither the identity of Shinichi Kudo nor the achievements of Conan Edogawa, so how to gain the trust of the police is also a problem.
*
When Vermouth arrived, Bourbon was already wearing his diving gear.
She walked over, took off his helmet, cupped his face in her hands and examined it for a moment, then exclaimed, "Although it looks very similar, your original face was definitely more handsome."
Bourbon has been replaced by Kudo Jun, the protagonist of the game.
The blond, dark-skinned man took her hand away and laughed, "You're out of character."
Vermouth was inexplicably amused and laughed to herself for a long time, while the blond youth had already retrieved the helmet.
He placed the items on the table, and even had the leisure to tie up the woman's long, wavy blonde hair before handing her the diving equipment.
“By the way, you know what? After burning down Umi-za Island, that lord reprimanded us, saying we were too high-profile and conspicuous,” Vermouth chatted with him. “But afterwards he praised us, commending us for killing someone the FBI was trying so hard to protect.”
The blond youth stood outside the door and hummed in agreement.
So I'm still quite satisfied, but I need to give the person in charge, Scotland, a little nudge so he doesn't get too cocky.
“But there is still something very important.” Vermouth came out after putting on her wetsuit. “I just confirmed with you the information about that FBI agent named Carmel, the man we worked with to get information out of him. Actually, it seems that he was the one we were hunting down last.”
The two walked along the submarine's passageway, chatting casually.
“You probably don’t know this, but that man actually has connections with Scotland,” Vermouth said. “He’s the FBI agent that Scotland and I ran into when Rye defected. Scotland even took pictures and showed them to Cohen, asking him to snipe them, but in the end they escaped.”
"That was a long time ago," Bourbon remarked.
"Hmm?" Vermouth glanced at him. "It's alright, it's only been two years."
How come this person has an even worse sense of time than her?
“Oh, maybe it’s because I subconsciously feel that guy Ray has been dead for a long time,” Bourbon said.
Vermouth: "..."
Vermouth conceded, but still felt compelled to remind him: "Didn't you always suspect that Akai wasn't dead? Now I'm starting to have my doubts too."
The blond youth immediately turned his head: "What do you mean?"
Vermouth frowned slightly, her expression serious: "There's someone standing in Namikaze Park who could shoot Gin's hat on Umiju Island."
"Did Gin's hat fall off? What was his expression? Was he angry?" Bourbon asked immediately, full of interest.
Vermouth: "..."
Bourbon blinked: "Okay, so you're saying that at this distance of 1300 yards, unless it's Shuichi Akai, you can't think of anyone else, right?"
Vermouth nodded.
Bourbon shrugged: "But this is a game, you know. Who knows if the other side is cheating? What does Scotland say?"
“He thinks so too.” She smiled. “So don’t worry, he’s gone to check for bugs and won’t be involved in this mission.”
"Then who's in command?" Bourbon asked.
“Gin,” Vermouth said.
"This is bad luck too." Bourbon sighed. "Boring, I don't want to play anymore. I'll leave after this part of the story."
“I’ll go with you,” Vermouth agreed.
After listening to their complaints about their older brother trying to slack off again, Vodka choked for a moment, but still dutifully reminded the two in their headsets: "The players' gathering place is not far ahead, so be careful not to go out of character."
Currently, both Vermouth and Bourbon are NPCs.
Bourbon is still playing Kudo Huai.
Vermouth plays the role of the organization's Thousand-Faced Witch, impersonating herself, since it requires the use of disguise techniques.
However, at least during this operation, the two of them must keep a low profile, not act with other players, and will not reveal their identities at this time.
Therefore, they all put on diving helmets before entering.
Pushing open the door, there were already six people in the room.
Without a doubt, all six are players.
"Alright, everyone's here."
Vodka sat in the cockpit, watching the monitor, and said into his headset, "You all know about the mission, right? If there are no problems, let's go."
Akai Shuichi raised his hand.
Everyone was looking at him.
Vodka asked, "What's the problem?"
Shuichi Akai lowered his hand, looking puzzled, and frowned, saying, "Isn't the Pacific Buoy the organization's location? Why do we have to sneak in like this?"
Vodka glanced at his phone, scanned the man's information, and turned to ask, "What is your mission?"
Shuichi Akai said, "I will help the organization completely control the Pacific buoys and eliminate other forces."
Vodka was speechless: "So isn't that obvious?"
Shuichi Akai, feigning ignorance, continued, "But even so, the organization's control over the Pacific buoys is still quite formidable, isn't it? Is it really necessary for us to be so sneaky? This is so frustrating, can't we just charge straight in?"
The others also looked somewhat puzzled.
"Another brainless brute and murderer," Vermouth complained in the organization's internal channel. "Why are there always guys like this joining the organization?"
Vodka could only explain helplessly: "Because of the special circumstances, police and engineers from various countries will be coming. We still have a use for those guys, so we can't kill them all, nor can we cause too much of a commotion."
Shuichi Akai looked like he suddenly understood and finally shut up.
Bourbon, standing nearby, scoffed.
Shuichi Akai paused slightly, feeling a sense of familiarity. He turned to look at him without making a sound, but could only see a helmet.
“Let’s go, don’t waste time,” Bourbon said.
Vodka nodded, opened the door, and let the group dive into the sea.
*
The real-life Kudo residence.
The FBI is still in a hurry.
"Shouldn't we let Mr. Akai come out first?" Camel, whose head had been shaved, paced anxiously in circles. "It feels so dangerous in there!"
During the burning of Umizaru Island, before being killed by the organization's members, Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai managed to buy time, allowing the FBI in the real world to finally crack the game and let Camel fake his death and escape.
Carmel was the only FBI agent to survive.
The situation is complicated for the other FBI players who died from Raven Shots. They are currently at a loss and can only place them in deserted areas to prevent the bombs from exploding.
Because he almost had his face exposed, Carmel had his head shaved and his appearance changed as soon as he came out.
He didn't care about that; he was just very worried about Mr. Akai, who was still in the game.
As long as the player isn't hit by the Raven Shot, the FBI can let them out safely.
However, both Shuichi Akai and Conan Edogawa refused.
Firstly, they have other things to do.
Secondly, if it's done too obviously, the organization will notice something's wrong, so it's best not to use this technique anymore.
Both of them are very opinionated and act on their ideas immediately, leaving the other side of the room anxiously waiting.
"By the way, where are Mr. Kudo and the others?" Carmel suddenly remembered that there should have been two other people who were anxious with them, but when he turned around, he found that they were not there at all.
“They…went to see a movie.” Judy’s expression was complicated.
"Huh? Watch a movie? What movie do you want to watch now?" Cameron was shocked.
Judy sighed, "Mr. Yusaku Kudo said he wants to rewatch 'The Butterfly Effect' and 'The Matrix'? I don't understand what they're thinking..."
*
"Splash—"
A giant whale leaped out of the sea, its massive body even blocking out most of the setting sun and the sky, and splashed water several meters high after it fell.
Layer upon layer of waves splashed seawater onto the small boats beside them, eliciting gasps and cheers.
On the larger ships further away were people who hadn't gone ashore to see the whales up close.
Ai Haibara pulled Conan Edogawa aside to quickly exchange information: "That laboratory on Mount Hachijo was a complete trap. Everyone who went there has disappeared without a trace. Luckily, I left immediately."
Even Sera Masumi, who had been by her side the whole time, turned back halfway to look for her companions because she was worried about them.
I don't know what the situation is now; there's still no news about them.
But she found the two people strange, so she told Conan Edogawa anyway.
Conan Edogawa nodded, a little worried, but then thought that the other person might be Mary Akai. As such a capable MI6 agent, she might be alright in the end.
Why would the trap set by the organization attract Mary Akai?
Conan Edogawa frowned and pondered, but couldn't come up with any results. He could only tell Ai Haibara to stay on the ship and not to move, and absolutely not to get close to anyone from the organization.
After seeing the whale, all she has to do is return to Hachijojima with Kogoro Mouri, Ran Mouri, and Heiji Hattori and wait for the game to end.
"Do you really have to participate in that instance?" Ai Haibara frowned.
Conan Edogawa nodded.
Helpless, Ai Haibara could only tell him to be careful and stay in touch.
Conan Edogawa nodded, his eyes still fixed on Ran Mouri below, who was taking pictures of the whale.
If possible, he wanted to let Xiaolan and the others go out first, but that would be too conspicuous...
Halfway through his thought, Hattori Heiji came over and pulled him aside to whisper: "Hey, Kudo, I learned something from that butler Iori that might be useful to you."
Conan Edogawa, who was about to remind him of the correct way to address him, suddenly sharpened his eyes: "Iori Muga? He's entered the game too? Where is he? What did he say?"
Hattori Heiji then briefly explained to him what had happened.
Their group was traveling around Hachijojima safely, but Kogoro Mori got into a fight while drinking, which angered a rather arrogant local gang.
During the fight, Hattori Heiji recognized Iori Muga.
However, Iori Muga didn't really hide anything from him, and even said that Miss Momiji sent him to keep an eye on Hattori Heiji.
They only had a few things in common, and Heiji Hattori didn't want to talk about Momiji Ooka. When they were bored on the trip, he talked to her about the cases they had worked on together before, and then they talked about something.
“Iori, I have nothing to say. The Ooka family and the Haneda family have a very good relationship,” Hattori Heiji said. “The Haneda family is also a large family. They even adopted a famous shogi player, the six-time champion, Haneda Hideyoshi, whom you have been investigating.”
Conan Edogawa paused for a moment, then asked, "So the Haneda family is actually very rich?"
He remembered that Haneda Meijin was Mr. Akai's younger brother and Sera's older brother.
And that Haneda Meijin's sworn brother is none other than Haneda Koji, who was killed by the organization 17 years ago.
In other words, Koji Haneda, who was a four-time champion at the time, was actually from a wealthy family, and the Haneda family had a good relationship with the Ooka family.
*
"So? Did you find any bugs?" Karasuma Renya asked.
“I’m sorry, Boss, while we have indeed found some traces of the FBI, we cannot be certain what they did,” Scotland said.
"As long as we confirm that they were the ones who tampered with it, that's fine." Karasuma Renya secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he was so frightened that he watched the video of Akai Shuichi's death several more times to calm his nerves.
Scotland smiled without saying a word, but simply compiled a complete report on the entire operation and sent it to him.
Gin, Gil, and Veslin are in a group, and they're taking the organization's plane on a trip abroad to take care of the spiders along the way.
Vodka acts as the driver, taking Vermouth and Bourbon as a team, responsible for the storyline involving the Pacific buoy.
Chianti and Cohen went to the Hachijo-Fujiyama Laboratory on Hachijo Island to wrap things up.
After reading the report, Karasuma Renya found nothing amiss, nodded in satisfaction, and reached out to touch the black crow on his shoulder.
The plan is going smoothly; all that's left is to wrap things up.
After a short rest, we can begin the final plan.
Meow~
The black cat crouched at the feet of the white-haired old man, but he was no longer able to bend down to touch it.
Breathing inside the oxygen mask was weak and heavy.
His time is running out.
Karasuma Renya's eyes were gloomy and crazed, and it took him a while to regain his composure and rationality.
The surveillance footage showed new developments in Scotland.
Karasuma Renya zoomed in on the surveillance footage and saw Binga's name pop up on the computer screen.
Binga, formerly a close confidant of Rum, is now a subordinate of Scotland.
He didn't have much of an impression of this person, except that Binga often did cross-dressing missions and hated Gin.
Karasuma Renya glanced at the mission report and confirmed that Binga had already infiltrated the Pacific buoy.
Is something important happening over there that he's messaging me now?
Karasuma Renya zoomed in on the dialog box in the monitor.
[Binga: Boss, Bourbon's in.]
[Binga: He was with Vermouth.]
[Binga: (Video)]
Karasuma Renya: "?"
Scotland didn't reply, but simply clicked on the video from the surveillance camera's perspective.
In the video, a blond young man and a blond woman, who had just emerged from the sea, removed their diving helmets, went into a room, changed into cleaning clothes, and came out.
It was very fast, taking only three minutes in total.
[Binga: They probably didn't do anything; I overwrote the surveillance footage after I finished watching it.]
Karasuma Renya: "..."
[Binga: They knocked out two engineers and then took their place, but they were a couple. (Image) (Image)]
[Binga: Bourbon ran into the players. (Image)]
[Binga: Bourbon seems a bit interested in this player; he's been chatting with him. (Image)]
Karasuma Renya: "…………"
Karasuma Renya was so angry that his chest heaved violently, and he slammed the monitor shut down.
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