196

The hospital, filled with disinfectant, was unusually quiet. The nurses and doctors in white coats, who were hurrying around, tried their best to remain quiet and tacitly held their breath when passing by a ward.

As a hospital under the organization, this place is not open to the public. Only the highly respected code members know its location. Even so, that adult has only been here a few times out of caution. This time, he has suffered such a serious injury and has just woken up. No one wants to be noticed.

“Dongdong——”

The door to this feared ward was knocked politely, and then pushed open rudely with a gentle voice.

"I'm here to see what has become of our organization's ace."

Bermode walked into the ward with a smile and looked at the person sitting on the bed.

The ace of the organization finally took off the black coat that never changed. He was wearing a hospital gown, with the top hat on his head put aside. His long silver hair was scattered behind his head, and he looked a little weak... Obviously, this was impossible.

"You seem to be quite free?"

A mocking snort came with a piercing gaze. Gin, who was leaning on the hospital bed but still acting like a big boss, looked at the newcomer with no less momentum. With just one sentence, he successfully made Vermode gradually unbalanced.

Obviously, I, a mystic who should have been slacking off, have been extremely busy these past two days, while this organization's model worker contestant has actually been lying in bed for two months.

The slight verbal confrontation seemed to ease the tension between the two, but of course, it was very limited.

The man seemed like the most sophisticated machine that always kept himself in the most alert state. Bermode had no doubt that there were at least two guns under his quilt, not to mention cold weapons.

After the confrontation between the two lasted for a few seconds, Gin spoke first and asked a question that surprised Vermouth.

"Grappa is out?"

The silver-haired man seemed to be just mentioning it casually, but his tone was very certain. Vermouth immediately understood that with Gin's familiarity with the organization's boss, he would definitely be able to guess his plan.

What's more, the fact that the organization's trump card was left unattended in the hospital also indirectly proves that the organization intends to continue using Grappa as a high-end combat force.

"Well, it has completely turned into a weapon." Vermouth did not hide it. She recalled that she had gone to the laboratory some time ago and only saw a...pure white doll.

Silvani performed a series of demonstrations, and the child was manipulated like an inanimate weapon. She stood in front of the operating table and watched expressionlessly for ten minutes before turning and leaving.

Will the only person who survived the organization's brainwashing technique eventually be doomed to fail?

Thinking of this, a rare look of genuine sadness appeared in Bermode's eyes, while Gin, who was sitting on the hospital bed, just sneered, as if he was not surprised by this ending.

"I'm more curious, Gin, what exactly do you think?"

Grappa had gotten rid of the brainwashing before, and Vermouth did not think that Gin knew nothing. Both of them joined the organization early on and witnessed the process of this terrifying technology gradually being perfected. However, unlike Vermouth's extreme rejection, Gin seemed not to care about these.

After saying this, Vermouth regretted it. With a barely perceptible sense of fatigue, she stood up and said:

"Forget it. I have no interest in what a boring man like you thinks in his mind."

Having said this, she turned around and prepared, as if this visit was just a spur of the moment. She walked gracefully towards the door, and a faint sound came from behind her.

That's the sound of a gun being loaded.

"Bermode," Gin's voice came from behind her, chillingly cold, but for some reason, Bermode felt an unprecedented sense of relief. She heard the overly direct and expected question from the other side:

"Have you betrayed me?"

The woman chuckled and didn't look back.

She said, "Gin, it has changed, why are we doing useless work?"

There was no answer from behind. Bermode curled the corners of her mouth, paused for a moment and continued to walk forward. She pushed open the door and there was light outside.

There was no gunshot.

———

"Bermode is here,"

In the dark corner of the hospital, a woman in a white coat held a miniature walkie-talkie tightly in her hand. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, "I don't know what they are talking about. I dare not get close. Gin is too alert..."

"That's enough," a gentle female voice came from the other side, "Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Mizuno."

"Is there anything else I can do? The defense has been lax recently," the woman clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, "I can go to be his attending physician, and then..."

"Don't take risks," the woman on the other end of the phone said in a serious voice, then softened and soothed, "You have done enough, even for your daughter. Don't be impulsive."

The woman forced a smile and said slowly:

"I know, but I don't expect to escape from here anymore. I only have my daughter... I can't let her be like me..."

She asked cautiously in a voice that sounded almost like pleading:

"You can do that, right?"

"We will do our best."

The woman on the other end of the phone didn't say any empty assurances, but for some reason these words felt particularly powerful.

The woman felt somewhat relieved and ended the call after thanking him.

As someone who grew up in the organization, with her parents and brothers all working for it, she realized that the relationship between her and her family was so fragile and even false in front of the organization. Just out of the selfish desire to have her relatives by her side, she capriciously brought her daughter into the world.

She regretted it, but was also humbled. As she watched her child grow up, the problem that she could not avoid forever was finally placed before her. Her daughter would gradually walk her own path.

The woman who had been docile in the organization for decades finally wanted to fight for her daughter at all costs. At the very least, she wanted her child to be different from herself, without any choice.

She didn't trust the official authorities, but if it was the White Alliance... she knew that the person she was talking to was Miyano Akemi, who was said to be dead in the organization. Since the Alliance could rescue her, they could definitely, definitely save her child.

——————

"It seems that the Japanese police have made sufficient preparations this time," said the man sitting in his safe house, looking at the intelligence. He put out the cigarette in his hand and asked with his phone tucked between his shoulders, "But it seems that there are some things you don't support?"

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to ignore this probing question and said directly: "It has been confirmed that there are no armed personnel in the hospital where Gin is. I have sent you a detailed topographic map, Mr. Akai."

"As expected of the White Alliance," Akai Shuichi raised his lips and suddenly asked, "The fact that we were able to obtain such detailed information is not only due to the technical assistance provided by that artificial intelligence friend, but I'm just curious, Mr. Zhufu, how did you turn these members of the organization who were theoretically impossible to turn against?"

"In this hospital, which is at the core of the organization, even ordinary nurses have been trained by the organization since childhood. In order to keep them secret, the organization has spent a lot of effort. The FBI has also encountered similar situations, but they were exploited and lost excellent agents."

"And why is it that the White Alliance is always able to recruit very key people to defect?"

The atmosphere seemed tense, but it seemed to be just an illusion. Akai Shuichi did not wait for an answer and took the initiative to explain: "But I have no intention of prying into the privacy of the White Alliance."

"I'm just curious, Mr. Zhu Fu, as a former public official, you are not doing this just to get promoted quickly, right?"

"Mr. Akai, I remember that you are not such a talkative person?" Morobushi Kagemitsu took the initiative to tease.

"Confirm some things, and I'm curious about the influence he has on you, Morobushi Kagemitsu?" The "he" that Akai Shuichi mentioned was naturally Noel. The longest time the two of them spent together was during their undercover period as code members. Whenever they communicated with each other, they couldn't help but test and guard against each other secretly. He thought that this person was so skilled that he could coax Noel into that state, but now it seems that some things are always two-way.

"What about you, Mr. Akai?" Morobushi Kagemitsu suddenly asked back, "As an FBI agent, even if you have some special privileges and come to Japan without permission, you should do more than just investigate Mr. Akai Mutake."

"Isn't that enough?"

"It's not enough for you since you already have the answer."

The two of them tacitly stopped the topic here and smoothly moved on to the next thing.

After hanging up the phone, Morobushi Kagemitsu rubbed his temples and said to Miyano Akemi beside him, "Should I say he is indeed an elite of the FBI? Mr. Akai is really very sharp."

"He is indeed like this," Miyano Akemi said with a smile, "Although he looks unkind, he is actually very thoughtful and curious. However, he probably prefers to investigate on his own. He probably has the answer in his mind now that he is asking me."

After Miyano Akemi finished speaking, she asked in a more serious tone, "Mr. Morobushi, are you sure you want to do this?"

A moment of silence made Miyano Akemi understand, and she took the initiative to change the topic. She stood up and handed the new medicine she got from her sister to Morobushi Kagemitsu, and said with a little worry: "Shiho has been working very hard recently."

"Although I say I understand, I really want to do something more for my friend."

"That kid always hopes to be more mature and wants to protect the people he wants to protect. Conan is the same. He even came to me yesterday to try to find out information and try to do something."

"This makes us adults feel ashamed."

Morofushi Jingguang did not respond, but gently held the USB flash drive in his pocket, which also contained proof that a child was trying his best to protect himself.

"We haven't done enough..." The man's voice was a little hoarse, and his expression couldn't be seen because of the light behind him. He has been exceptionally silent lately.

"I've already contacted someone at Silvani's laboratory." Miyano Akemi didn't offer any useless consolation. She just looked at the other person seriously and said firmly, "Trust me."

If the White Alliance's intelligence mainly benefits from the informants who have defected from the organization, then Akemi Miyano is the most important contact person in the middle. No one knows better than her, who was once a grassroots member of the organization, how to convince those who are forced to live in the shadows and have lost the right to choose since birth.

There are always people who are unwilling to live in such despair, but have long lost their trust in official institutions. Miyano Akemi is in a similar situation to them, but now she has escaped from the organization and survived.

This gave a small number of people the courage to resist their fate.