Every step and every day of being an undercover agent is like walking on thin ice. Even in the middle of the night, there is no way to sleep peacefully.

Toru Amuro came out of the base only after he dealt with Vermode.

It was really too strange that the other party kept expecting him to stay away from the Maori Detective Agency. For a moment, he wondered if this was a bait from Bermode.

But after several attempts, especially when he took the organization's funds and pretended to worship Kogoro Mori as his master, Vermouth began to pay attention to his actions and even revealed her true colors in the confrontation with him, leading to the deep relationship between her and the boss.

Of course, he couldn't let go of the figure of the "dead" Shuichi Akai that he had seen on the train before.

This made him choose to continue lurking in the Poirot Cafe, and continue to follow Kogoro Mori on the case when necessary, as his mission regarding Shirley was completed and Bourbon's identity was exposed.

Just like this time, the commission came from Okino Yoko, a popular actress who was loved not only by Maori Kogoro but also by Kazami.

The distance between a public security policeman and a geek fanboy is only that of Yoko Okino.

Amuro Toru didn't understand.

Originally it was just a commission that seemed to be related to stalkers. He believed that even without him, Kogoro Mori would not be able to solve it, but the kid named Conan Edogawa would definitely be able to find out the truth.

After spending some time together, he has already realized who the man behind Kogoro Mori is.

But when he actually arrived at the scene, he discovered that everything was arranged by fate.

"Ah, it's Brother Furuya!"

Conan Edogawa's voice immediately caught Toru Amuro's heart, causing him to lose his composure and become nervous for a moment.

But he soon realized that the sound was not directed at him.

The surname "Furuya" is different from Sato and Suzuki. It is a relatively uncommon surname, especially in the eyes of an undercover agent like him, who will not let go of any suspicious points.

For people like them, paranoia is a basic quality.

He looked in the direction of the voice - he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants, and had medium-length hair. At first glance, he looked like a somewhat unruly teenager.

The "Furiya brother" was holding a makeup brush in his hand, and he was obviously a staff member here. His face was also a little pink, and his long-term dealings with Vermouth and his experience in intelligence made him quite knowledgeable about cosmetics.

But that's not the point.

The key point is the feeling he gave Amuro Toru - it was just a glance, a clearly unfamiliar glance, but he had a sense of déjà vu.

I've seen it somewhere before - Toru Amuro came to the conclusion in one breath.

As an intelligence officer, he was still very confident in his memory. Intellectually - there was no such face in his memory.

But a strong sense of violation lingered in his heart.

Toru Amuro is a very active person. When faced with a conflict, he never waits for opportunities, he creates them himself.

So he took the initiative to step forward and extended his hand, "Hello, I am Mr. Maori's eldest disciple, and this time I am also here to learn from Mr. Maori."

When the man saw him, his eyes seemed to light up.

Those eyes—those bright eyes—

Amuro Toru's breathing became lighter. The hand that was holding his, the gun coil in the knuckles, the length of the knuckles, and... that name, that voice.

"I am Jiang Gu, Jiang Gu Zero."

His heart ached, as if he was back on the rooftop that night.

Furuya Rei, Furuya Rei, who in this world would use this name in front of him?

What does this mean, a trial? A test?

He didn't dare to show any emotion, just like a normal person, he met a new stranger and chatted with him casually to discern useful information.

Amuro Toru looked at his calm appearance and his heart was filled with ripples.

He looked at this "Furiya Rei", who remained calm even when being treated as a suspect, and calmly examined the body and analyzed the case.

He just laughed it off when Kogoro Mori pointed out he was the criminal, and he seemed to have no temper when he was forced to undergo a body search.

Looks like it. Very similar.

Even the way he spread his hands helplessly and then turned to him for help was exactly the same as before.

But this did not make him feel relieved, only a chill down his spine.

Kagemitsu died in front of him, he confirmed it himself. He couldn't even forgive Akai Shuichi who was helpless at the time, so how could he forgive himself?

But now, such a person, with the shadow of Jingguang, appeared in front of him——the condition for wanting to replicate it was understanding.

Who is it that could investigate both Jingguang and him to such an extent?

Who is using the shadow of the scenery?

He couldn't suppress the rage that welled up in his chest.

As if shrouded in shadow, Amuro Toru agreed to his obvious wish to be alone.

The undisguised lancet and purpose, and the illogical behavior made him unable to understand for a moment.

But what really concerned him was the bandage around his chest.

With Toru Amuro's keen eyesight, he could tell from the man's movements that he had no injuries.

There is no injury but the wound is still bandaged... Who is it for? Is it to cover up something?

Every question will be answered.

Amuro Toru's heart moved, and after thinking for a while, he asked his doubts.

——Why him? If we had never met before, how could we be sure that he would not tell the search team about the knife hidden on his body?

"I would choose Amuro-kun for the same reason that Amuro-kun chose me."

——"It felt like we had known each other for a long time."

"Choice" - something was flowing in Toru Amuro's eyes. The word rolled over his eardrums, and his whole body seemed to be floating in cold sea water.

Several ideas formed in my mind, but were quickly overturned.

After returning home, he tossed and turned almost all the time, unable to fall asleep. The investigation he had ordered to Kazami soon produced results.

The man who called himself "Furutani Rei" was not difficult to find. On the contrary, his residence and all the routes after entering Japan were as clear as those of an ordinary person.

But looking back, we find that this person seemed to appear in this world out of thin air.

Without a past, we don’t know where the future is.

When he unexpectedly met "Furiya Rei" who came to the supermarket to do some shopping, he immediately decided on the plan that had been on his mind.

The text message informed Kazami, and he took the initiative to meet him.

Since nothing can be found from outside, it is better to obtain intelligence directly at close range. This is what he is best at.

However, before he could exert any strength, "Furiya Rei" placed his hands under his eyes, and it was obvious at first sight that he was having trouble sleeping and was in a bad mood.

Being seen through by others was a terrible and terrifying thing for him, which made Amuro Toru's mask crack a little for a moment. But then he found that "Furugaya Rei" who said this was also stunned for a moment, as if he didn't understand why he did this and said this.

At this moment, an absurd idea that he had never had before appeared in his mind.

Outrageous ideas, absurd considerations - but once they appear, there is no way to completely eradicate them.

This idea reached its peak when I tasted what this person had made.

Finally, he couldn't help but asked the question.

——"Hit it off at first sight", have they... met before?

But the moment he asked the question, Toru Amuro realized that he didn't need anyone else's answer.

When he had this doubt and absurdity, he already had the answer.

At night, the soft yellow light shone on the ground. He controlled the speed and time of the car. Only after Kazami confirmed that the room had been restored to its original state did he drive "Furiya Rei" back.

I shifted the gear in a daze and was about to start back when I suddenly heard a sound beside my ear.

“Zero.”

The sound is far away, yet seems very close.

His hands tightened and the steering wheel he was holding was almost left with several fingerprints. The inevitable physiological reaction made him breathe heavily.

Not Rei, but Zero.

At this moment, Amuro Toru was absolutely certain that he could no longer leave and could not ignore it. This extremely delicious bait was placed in front of him, hitting the most vulnerable point in his heart.

He is a human being, so he has selfish desires.

He can suppress the development of this selfishness, but he cannot control its taking root.

Fortunately, Toru Amuro is so busy every day that he has no time to feel sad. The pressure is on him, and coupled with the recent changes within the public security department, he doesn't even have time to investigate the whereabouts of "Furukaya Rei" after leaving Tokyo. He can only let Kazami keep an eye on his route.

The organization has been in a state of chaos lately, and Toru Amuro feels the situation is getting tense. Gin has been on the move recently, and he has been assigned many unclear missions one after another. Although things seem calm on the surface, there are actually undercurrents.

Something is coming.

Even Vermouth specifically told him that Gin was keeping an eye on him.

Being noticed by this TOP big brother is not a good thing. The biggest possibility is that it means there is something wrong with his identity.

So he became more cautious and prepared several plans in advance. At the same time, he sorted out all the action tracks in recent months to check for omissions and fill in the gaps.

The final destination seems to be just the broken thread of "Furiya Rei".

Could he be part of the organization?

He guessed step by step, verified step by step, but at the same time he fell into a kind of self-loathing because of such absurdity and absurdity.

If it is - what should he do, if it is not - what should he do?

He was struggling, just like choosing a place to rest his spirit in the vast crowd.

Toru Amuro lowered his head and looked at the man who was leaning over the table with his head propped up - he fell asleep in front of him without any protection?

He asked himself, "I can't do this."

Even under his most absurd speculation, he could no longer be completely unprepared.

Or rather——Amuro Toru looked at him, trying to see through this man's skin to his inner self, his thick hair hanging on the arm of "Furutani Rei".

Before, I seemed to be able to feel that this person was protecting his forehead intentionally or unintentionally. Is there something on it?

Toru Amuro stretched out his hand, and his fingers touched the man's hair on his forehead. After pausing for a few seconds, he retracted his hand.

Then he started to serve Poirot as if nothing had happened until the man at the bar woke up.

Amuro Toru, who had just woken up, approached him and called out the name "Zero" at the most instinctive moment.

He obviously didn't react.

The sudden realization and embarrassed cover-up made him instantly realize that this name definitely did not belong to the person in front of him.

Moreover, the person in front of me also knows this clearly.

But the strange thing was that such an obvious temptation not only did not provoke any backlash, but instead made the man stare at him in a trance, and then took the initiative to tear off his disguise.

Or rather, it seemed as if this person had never concealed anything in front of him. As long as he asked, the other party would answer.

More importantly, all his disguises seemed to be non-existent in the other person's eyes; his hidden emotions, throbbing, struggles, considerations, and even what he saw and thought, seemed to be broken by the other person in an instant.

For an undercover agent, it is extremely dangerous to be seen through a little bit, but if he becomes completely transparent in the eyes of another person, he will be free of all burdens.

The small and confined space in the car gave Amuro a special sense of security. The lonely car was hidden in an industrial area in the suburbs, and the surroundings were completely empty, and the edge could be seen at a glance.

It makes people want to fill something in.

This is the right place to talk.

Amuro Toru turned off the engine and waited quietly for the person in the co-pilot seat to speak.

——"Furiya Rei" is not my real name, I just used this name."

Of course he knew.

——"I just... have no choice. This is the only full name I can find from my memory. The rest are too scattered to be pieced together."

Toru Amuro's heart skipped a beat.

——"I wasn't lying when I said we hit it off at first sight. I must know you, or - I used to know you. I just can't tell whether this "knowledge" means an enemy or a friend. So I don't dare to act rashly."

So what prompted him to act rashly now?

Did it confirm something, or is there another reason?

The man pulled something out of his pocket and rubbed it on his face.

As expected, he had never shown his true face to anyone.

A certain conjecture in his mind was infinitely close to reality. At this moment, Amuro Toru felt a sense of escape that he had never experienced before.

Is it because he's homesick, or some mixed feeling that even he himself can't figure out?

These things blocked Amuro Toru's chest, choking him and making him unable to speak. Even his breathing stopped.

Right before our eyes - right before our eyes.

The feeling of suffocation hit his brain, until a finger with sunshine touched his chest, diluting the sob, and he suddenly resumed breathing.

——A pure, five-petal cherry blossom.

Now there is only one petal left.

Toru Amuro suddenly grabbed the hand, and pressed it between his eyebrows with his fingers tightening continuously as if he wanted to keep something.

He is trembling.

Such a close distance is closer than the distance of death.

Say it out loud, say the name that has been pressed to the back of your tongue countless times but will never have the chance to be uttered again.

“Hir——” Strangely, he couldn’t say this unique name no matter what, as if it was crushed in his flesh and blood, “Hiromitsu (Kagemitsu).”

They are friends, best friends, and they support each other when they are alone in the darkness.

But today, after having lost and recovered it, he seemed to be looking at flowers in the mist, his clear eyes could not see what he really wanted to see.

Something sour and hot surged in front of the pupils, filling up with mist, but he held it back with great effort.

Which is real, the present or the past?

Amuro suppressed these turbulent thoughts. No matter what the situation was, he could immediately return to work when needed.

Sure enough, the atmosphere he felt before was neither an accident nor an illusion - Curacao, Amuro Toru had heard this code name before.

He had heard of the capable people around Rum.

The intelligence provided by Jingguang is extremely important. From audio and video recordings to confidential documents and experimental reports, it directly reveals the dark lines of the organization hidden in the public security, the action mode and operation purpose of the organization hidden deep inside.

Amuro Toru realized what had happened to the person standing in front of him today.

And another organization of the same magnitude.

Pandora searches for the limits of the human body and uncovers the secret of the existence of Kidd, a thief who has a worldwide influence.

It doesn't take much thought to know how attractive the things these two organizations are researching and the goals they want to achieve are.

Throughout the ages, hasn't all power ultimately come down to the pursuit of life length?

Toru Amuro could guess how many people would be involved and support them openly or secretly - politicians, tycoons, all of whom would become their enemies in the end.

What is even more worrying is that those who can control the public security behind the scenes may have been involved in it.

All their actions, the undercover agents from various countries entering the organization, could it be that they were integrated resources from the very beginning?

Could it be that even Jingguang’s initial death was…

Such an irresistible impact made Amuro Toru's hair stand on end, as if he had stepped into something he shouldn't touch.

Compared with these major events, what does one's own selfishness matter?

My own stuff...

He quickly suppressed those emotions and began to concentrate on the task at hand.

We must be careful when dealing with the organization, and be even more cautious with the unclear situation in public security. Anyone who cannot be confirmed must be treated as an enemy. Those experimental reports in foreign languages ​​cannot be handed over to others for interpretation. He has to work overtime. The true identity of Conan Edogawa must be tested carefully. At the same time, Vermouth's attitude is also very important, and her position still needs to be used at critical moments.

His sleep hours per week were less than two digits, so he had to take a leave of absence from his job at Poirot.

But at this moment, an accident happened in Yokohama.

The man who once killed Matsuda and Hagiwara once again reached out to the people around him.

That kind of gnashing hatred instantly surpassed his feelings towards the Black Organization. Even after he was confirmed to be safe through Conan Edogawa and subsequent information, he could no longer sleep.

Intellectually, he knew he couldn't leave Tokyo now.

Curacao, the public security database, Gin, and Vermode are all gathered in Tokyo, and he absolutely cannot leave.

But emotionally, his selfishness could never be completely eliminated.

He sat on the balcony, the cold night wind penetrated his collar and seeped into his skin.

After the whole story was uploaded to the police department and became a report, he immediately asked Kazami to come over.

Such behavior is what Jingguang would do.

For a moment, he felt ashamed of his doubt. Only he knew that he still doubted that person.

Whether it was that person's appearance, body, reactions, or habits, it all proved that he was Morobushi Kagemitsu, but...

Toru Amuro found that he couldn't admit from the bottom of his heart that he couldn't call him "Hiro".

Putting aside these personal matters, the plan is still going smoothly.

Just as Jingguang had expected, Curacao had indeed intended to leave the organization a long time ago, and after discovering his identity, he did not report it to the organization, but came to him to reveal his cards.

He hopes to use himself as a bargaining chip and rely on the power of the public security to break away from the organization.

"Witness Protection".

Amuro Toru understood what the other party meant.

A confidant of Rum and a human-shaped USB flash drive, the chips are big enough to make the public security accept her conditions.

What's more, she was even willing to help the police first, complete the verification of "Bourbon's" identity, then submit a false list, and then get away with faking her own death.

This is a condition that the police cannot refuse.

The battlefield moved to Nagano Prefecture, and even the thief Kidd cooperated seriously and helped the public security to set up a trap. Everything seemed to be going in the smoothest direction.

Even though there is a pair of surveillance eyes around him, and even though his opponent is the much-rumored Black Widow, Toru Amuro is not afraid.

However, Shuichi Akai's proactive contact broke this false smoothness and put the last straw on this fragile balance.

"Brain transplant" - this is such a heavy word, it almost exceeds the limits of biotechnology that they can reach.

Does such a thing really exist?

Toru Amuro combined the data provided by Shuichi Akai with the data provided by "Kagemitsu" before, and an irrefutable conclusion was placed in front of him.

A chill ran up from the soles of my feet, straight to my heart, and then my heart was ignited.

Someone is actually using Jingguang's body and identity!

it turns out--

Toru Amuro suddenly stood up, and the chair fell to the ground, startling Haro who had fallen asleep. It seemed to have sensed its owner's drastic change in mood, and it circled its owner's legs and barked twice.

But it was of no use at all. Its owner was breathing rapidly, and the computer light shone on his face from bottom to top. This only light in the darkness exuded a cold texture that made people feel scared.

His loss of composure lasted only a moment, and soon he suppressed his emotions and calmed down.

Once calm, the intelligence officer's instinct began to dig into the details, and the indisputable contradictions between the existing clues and the known conclusions were revealed before his eyes.

Shuichi Akai's information was certainly important, but the data that really complemented the core information and drew conclusions was provided by the person who occupied Kagemitsu's body.

This data was not obtained as a helpless bargaining chip after being discovered, but was delivered proactively. If...

If this is really the case as shown in this data, then why——

Toru Amuro couldn't figure it out, no matter what he did, he couldn't figure it out.

When I think back carefully, it seems that countless things are telling of something unusual, "Kagemitsu" who got the Black Widow's seat number on the Shinkansen but only understood it and didn't even explore it, No. 130 who suddenly exploded during the operation, Silver Fox who died violently under the supervision of the public security before the operation - no, even longer ago, when he was in Yokohama, his behavior, his sudden disappearance, the vagueness in the hospital report, and going back further, the judgment of Curacao, and Curacao himself who came to cooperate right after, all seem to be flaws that prove the current facts.

——That’s not Jingguang.

There was no sadness or pain as he had imagined, but just... a feeling of emptiness and nothingness lingering around him.

It was like trying to scoop water with a bamboo basket, or trying to catch the moon in the water. Perhaps from the very beginning, somewhere in his heart, he knew very well that the facts that had been confirmed could not be changed, and the mirror flowers and water moon were just for a little psychological comfort.

An undercover agent walking alone in the dark should not be associated with such illusory meanings.

Toru Amuro was confused and didn't know how to deal with the current situation.

Back then, he was unable to save Hiro - he even had to cheer and mock the death of his best friend in front of the organization members.

There was not even a chance for him to rest in peace——

Now, he would never allow anyone to take advantage of Hiro and exploit his value after his death.

Haro was still a little anxious. He kept nudging Amuro Toru's ankles with his head, and from time to time he would stick out his pink tongue to please his master.

Looking at this pair of bright and pure puppy eyes, a soft spot in Amuro's heart seemed to be touched, and his mood calmed down. He squatted down, held the little Shiba Inu in his arms, rubbed the soft fur on his chin, listened to the wake-up bell ringing in his ears, and ended the day's fantasy.

After changing his clothes, Toru Amuro turned the page, cleared out the unnecessary emotions in his heart, and began to plan something seriously.

With the current conclusion, we can infer what happened before, as well as Conan's avoidance of gaze and nervousness in the past one or two days. Even if the message was delivered privately, it would be very difficult, but the only thing that could directly threaten Conan like this should be - the hostage.

Amuro Toru has screened all personnel. Now he has countless eyes watching him, and Gin has already settled in Tokyo without even recovering from his injuries.

Many other people were specially called back, which shows how much importance Rum and the boss attach to them.

This is not the time to fight alone, Amuro Toru knows this deeply.

At the most difficult time, an unexpected white pigeon helped them out of the urgent need, and the sudden appearance of the thief Kid changed the development of things. In addition, it was about Conan Edogawa, so the Kudo couple, who had just won an Oscar, would naturally go all out.

Everything went very smoothly.

Just like the previous incident in Nagano Prefecture that seemed accidental but actually promoted the plan, such smooth sailing always made Amuro Toru feel a little uneasy.

Or rather, there is a bad feeling that is slipping away from your fingers like sand in your tightly grasped hands.