Chapter 70: Of all the workers, Zero experiences the most pressure.
For a full week, the entire National Police Agency was mobilized to assist Zero Group and Special Investigation Team in their work across the country.
A familiar colleague has gone missing, a case that was thoroughly reviewed has been unearthed, and the boss is constantly rushing between meetings with a tense expression.
Everyone sensed that a storm was brewing.
Even though all the police officers and undercover investigators carefully protected the Black Organization's facade of peace and tranquility, they eventually realized something was wrong.
A manor in Japan.
Karasuma Renya angrily flung his hand away, breaking free from the needle that was about to pierce his vein.
The family doctor next to me, wearing a mask and a white coat, kept his eyes down and head lowered to avoid making any noise.
The old man gasped for breath, his exhaled breath fogging the oxygen mask and obscuring the lower half of his face, which resembled dried orange peel: "Useless!"
He didn't know who he was cursing, but with a wave of his left hand, all the injection equipment in the silver tray in front of him was swept to the ground.
A small medicine bottle shattered, and shards of glass landed near the silver-haired assassin's shoes.
Karasuma Renya's gaze was sinister, and a scarlet light seemed to flash deep within his narrow pupils.
He stared intently at Gin, but his words were directed at the medical staff: "If you can't even do something as simple as giving an injection properly, what use are you to me!"
Everyone present lowered their heads even further, and no one uttered a word in defense.
The only one who wasn't implicated by the old man's outburst was Vermouth. This blonde woman gracefully stepped out from behind Gin, seemingly accustomed to everything that was happening before her.
She didn't speak rashly, but squatted down and picked up the items on the ground one by one, then turned around and handed them to the servant who was waiting with his head down.
The servant's eyes darted upwards, cautiously glancing at Karasuma Renya on the main seat several times. Seeing that he didn't react, he left with the medical waste in his hands as if he had been granted a pardon.
"Intelligence team...go investigate, cough cough cough!"
Karasuma Renya gasped for breath, making a "hoarse" sound in his throat, and grabbed Vermouth's wrist. The contrast between his withered, twig-like hand and the beautiful, fair wrist made him even more frightening: "Vermouth!"
The woman obediently lowered her head, her blonde hair slipping from her shoulders, avoiding eye contact to prevent the old man from feeling that her gaze was too condescending: "What are your orders, BOSS?"
“You’ve been with me the longest, and I trust you the most,” the old man said, his eyes sharp as he held her tightly in his hand, saying each word clearly, “You’re in charge of this.”
Don't let me down.
"Yes." Vermouth withdrew her hand, bowed again, and respectfully agreed.
She turned and left, passing Gin without glancing at him, who remained silent like a tamed wolfhound.
The blonde woman smiled knowingly out of the corner of her eye.
You made a mistake, Top Killer.
She mouthed it.
*
Kitagawa Ryusei quickly returned to work at the police station.
Although the news that he did not die in the line of duty will have to be kept secret for a while, the police department has been cleaned up, and with the organization's affairs at a critical juncture, everyone has been put to good use.
There are too many people to interrogate right now, and there are also many waiting in line to be arrested. In order to prevent any from slipping through the net, the Special Investigation Team and the Zero Group are making arrests across the country. Rei Furuya and Yuya Kazami, who are stationed in Tokyo, are interrogating people one after another.
But the speed of interrogation could never keep up with the speed of arrests, and the police station's interrogation room was soon overcrowded, causing Kazami Yuya's brows to furrow even more.
It's another morning.
Just as he was thinking about freeing up two interrogation rooms, Kazami Yu saw Kitagawa Ryusei and his group dragging back two more guys, and in a very bandit-like manner, they put sacks over their heads.
The passing colleagues from Group Zero couldn't help but feel annoyed at the sight, but they were getting used to it.
"Hey, isn't this Kazami-kun? Why are you still wearing yesterday's clothes? Did you sleep in the office last night?"
Walking ahead of Kitagawa Ryusei, Asahina Yugo waved enthusiastically, standing out starkly from the group of lifeless office workers around him.
God knows what kind of spell the people in Group Zero were cast on, making their working hours increasingly outrageous, even strangely proportional to their job rank.
Thanks to these guys, the special investigation team has been feeling a bit guilty going home after get off work these past few days.
Kazami Yu didn't reply either. Just as the Special Investigation Team couldn't understand why the Zero Team was so passionate about their work, the Zero Team couldn't understand where these people got their energy from.
They always seem too rigid at work, never slacking off, never daydreaming, and never joking with colleagues.
He remained silent for a while, then chose to skip the greeting process and get straight to work, holding the list in his hand to confirm the targets of this arrest.
"Tabuchi Daiyou and...Kusuda Rikudo?"
Kazami Yuya flipped through several pages of the list but couldn't find a second name—this person wasn't part of their capture plan.
The two organization members, who were covered by sacks, reacted to their names when they heard them called, and began to struggle.
Kitagawa Ryusei, having seen enough of the two men's anxious expressions after losing their sight, reached out and took the two sacks off, tossing them to his team members. He casually remarked, "The extra one is a 'gift' from the FBI. We happened to run into Shuichi Akai chasing this guy at Beika Central Hospital and managed to stop him from committing suicide."
The members of the organization were utterly inept at disguise and escape, but they were remarkably decisive and efficient in taking their own lives, demonstrating an astonishing level of fear of being caught.
The young man had barely finished speaking.
As if some keyword had triggered an invisible button in the air, the surrounding air suddenly became still.
The door to the interrogation room behind me made a perfectly timed knocking sound.
Kitagawa Ryusei turned his gaze upon hearing the sound.
Rei Furuya, who had just finished an interrogation, smiled and said, "Inspector Kitagawa is back? You just said there was an FBI there."
"The hospital? I really hope it's nothing serious."
Kitagawa Ryusei suddenly fell silent: "..."
I suddenly felt a toothache.
The corridor was quiet because of Rei Furuya's presence; the only sound was the whirring of the central air conditioning.
The atmosphere between the two leaders seemed like they were at odds, and Kazami Yuya and Asahina Yugo, caught in the middle, exchanged a glance.
Yugo Asahina immediately stopped, hid the sack behind his back, and grinned, revealing a professional smile with eight teeth.
Kazami Yuya's two messy eyebrows twitched as he laughed.
At this moment, the subordinates on both sides were observing.
Kazami Yu was also afraid that the two of them would fight like they did last time they met. Asahina Yugo, on the other hand, seemed to be the opposite, as if he would strike first and take care of the enemy BOSS's henchmen as soon as Kitagawa Ryusei gave the signal to smash the cup.
However, they were destined to misunderstand.
Rei Furuya instinctively offered her blessings upon hearing "FBI," but what does that have to do with her boyfriend?
Not at all.
In front of Kitagawa Ryusei, he didn't let his fatigue show on his face. His gray suit jacket was draped over his arm, and his slender fingers brushed through his golden hair. Because it was so soft, the hair immediately fell back to his forehead as soon as he let go.
Rei Furuya stepped past Yuya Kazami and the others, stopping a few steps in front of Ryusei Kitagawa. His tone was no different from when the two were chatting at home, familiar and gentle: "Are you busy? If not, go have lunch first. Your lunchbox is still in my office."
The smell of gunpowder vanished instantly, as if it were a hallucination, but the surroundings were even quieter than before.
The subordinates who had been watching the two were visibly frozen in place, fading and petrified; even the slightest heavy breathing from one of them could blow them away.
So, what exactly is going on here...?
The two looked at each other as if in a mirror, seeing their own confusion reflected in each other's eyes.
It was well past lunchtime, but Kitagawa Ryusei guessed that Furuya Rei had been busy all morning and had only managed a quick bite for breakfast. However, he still had two organization members standing there waiting to be dealt with.
The young man could only spread his hands, silently responding with body language.
Despite still having that handsome and composed face, Asahina Yugo swears with his exceptional professionalism that Kitagawa Ryusei's micro-expressions are now filled with regret!
Even the way they looked at those two pitiful criminals became even more ruthless!
The opposing BOSS was also a bit of a disappointment; even its dazzling golden hair didn't seem so eye-catching anymore.
Rei Furuya lowered his eyes and nodded, his emotions flashing only briefly in his eyes. He turned to Yuya Kazami and said, "I'm going back to the organization this afternoon. Kazami, you continue the interrogation."
Kazami Yuya was unusually slow to react, but upon receiving the order, he straightened his back and said, "Ah...yes, yes!"
Rei Furuya looked up, and his gaze met that of Ruki Kitagawa for a fleeting moment before quickly parting again.
Without further conversation, he strode towards the direction Kitagawa Ryusei had come from.
The young man stood there watching him walk away, then turned and pushed open the door to the interrogation room and went in.
...
Right now, not only are the Japanese police extremely busy, but all official agencies that have dealings with the CIA, FBI, and Japanese police are also conducting internal purges.
The most astonishing of all is Europol.
Who would have thought that beneath the beautiful face of female detective Glass was a man with corn braids?
They had been colleagues for so long that they didn't notice anything amiss at all.
While everyone was wary of the organization, they also developed a sense of respect for it.
Those organizations that haven't yet connected with the third party have also gotten some information through their own undercover agents within the organization.
British MI6, Canadian CSIS, German BND... all immediately dispatched personnel to negotiate with the Japanese police.
Once both sides confirm cooperation, the next step will inevitably be to discuss intelligence exchange terms and operational plans.
These all fall under the purview of the special search team responsible for extradition and cross-border handover of personnel.
Of course, the workload of Team Zero is no less than that of them.
So far, they have not received any news about Karasuma Renya. His death has been confirmed in the police system, and apart from a few witness testimonies, they have no evidence to identify Karasuma Renya as the boss of the Black Organization.
As the highest-ranking undercover investigator remaining in the organization, this task could only be assigned to Rei Furuya.
With the organization's crisis now out in the open, Rei Furuya's return presents the perfect opportunity to gather intelligence. The entire Zero Team must be ready to provide backup, ensure timely intelligence transmission, and safeguard the personal safety of undercover agents.
Of all the people, Rei Furuya will face the greatest pressure.
...
After finishing his work, Kitagawa Ryusei did not go home. Instead, he found a seat next to Kazami Yuya and sat down to listen to the interrogation.
He barely spoke, only speaking up to remind Kazami Yuya when he showed signs of being misled by the organization's members. He seemed to be thinking about something, his gaze unfathomable.
Kazami Yuya felt that the current situation was exactly the same as when Mr. Furuya was present.
He had an urge to give up his position as presiding judge and stand behind the young man, but he restrained himself so as not to embarrass Mr. Furuya.
Those conducting the interrogation could feel the pressure, but the pressure on the organization members being interrogated was only greater than that on Kazami Yuya.
Large beads of sweat rolled down the man's forehead. His handcuffed hands clenched and unclenched, his legs trembled uncontrollably, and even his voice began to tremble.
Until a phone rang in the suffocatingly quiet interrogation room.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing the screen light up, Kitagawa Ryusei stood up and said, "Excuse me, I'm going to take this call."
Kazami Yuya nodded and waved his hand repeatedly, indicating that it was alright.
The interrogation room door closed, and it was completely dark outside.
There wasn't a single star in the sky, and it looked like a heavy rain was about to fall.
When the call connected, Kitagawa Ryusei asked, "What is it, Conan-kun?"
"..."
Time ticked by, and there was silence on the other end of the phone.
Just as Kitagawa Ryusei frowned and was about to head downstairs to the Science Investigation Division to check his phone's location, Edogawa Conan's voice came from the speaker.
The child's voice was unusually weak, barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz: "...seven... crows..."
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