Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Page 142

Wait a minute, could the boss have given himself this codename as a subtle reminder not to be a mouse...?

That doesn't make sense either. I'm not a mouse, so what's there to panic about?

Sano adjusted his mindset and continued listening to the gossip.

"Later, Shuichi Akai attempted to capture the organization's codenamed member, but unfortunately, he failed and was exposed. Even more unfortunately, we were unable to capture him, and he escaped."

Amuro Tooru calmly recounted the background of a codenamed member in just two or three short sentences. However, Sano couldn't help but sense a tiny bit of... gritted teeth when the other person mentioned the words "Rye" and "Akai Shuichi".

...Could it be that these two had some kind of love-hate relationship?

Or is this just a disguise to avoid suspicion, and the two are actually accomplices?

Sano hadn't forgotten that Amuro Tooru was highly suspected of being an undercover agent.

Sano had even considered investigating and finding evidence to hand over to Gin so he could boost his sales.

Unfortunately, Sano hasn't seen Amuro Tooru since the incident with Matsumoto Sayuri, let alone conducted any investigation... Even if he did see him, Sano probably wouldn't have the time or inclination to investigate.

After Amuro Tooru explained the background of the mission, Gin took over the conversation.

"Although Shuichi Akai seemed indifferent to the fate of the Miyano sisters when he ran away, we still have reason to suspect that he might just be pretending."

"This mission can be described as being cautious, or it can be described as luring out Shuichi Akai. In short, we must keep a close eye on Akemi Miyano until the day we kill her."

After hearing the gossip, Sano already had a certain impression of Shuichi Akai—a scumbag.

The character of Shiho Miyano's older sister has also changed from a gentle older sister to a pitiful tool whose emotions are being played with.

After regaining his senses, Sano raised his hand curiously, like a student asking a question in class: "Um, what about 'until the day she was killed'? Wasn't it just killing her directly? So, this is actually still trying to lure out Shuichi Akai as much as possible?"

"That's one of the reasons."

Gin said calmly, "Miyano Akemi's current identity can be used. I plan to have her rob a bank of 1 billion yen and then kill her, making the most of her resources."

...If Miyano Akemi keeps failing to snatch it, the time these codenamed members wasted on her would already be enough to earn back the 1 billion yen.

Actually, my main purpose was to go fishing.

Sano stretched out his right thumb and bit it.

"Therefore, I plan to divide the six of us into three groups to take turns keeping watch: me and Vodka, Cohen and Chianti, Rye and... Bourbon."

Gin made simple groups, but paused slightly when mentioning Sano and Amuro Tooru at the end.

"During the surveillance, once you spot Shuichi Akai, do not hesitate to request backup. If you successfully capture or kill him, the 1 billion yen will be distributed in full based on your performance after the money has been laundered."

"If Shuichi Akai does not appear, then everyone will receive a bonus of ten million yen after this mission is completed."

It means that regardless of whether the deal goes through or not, you'll still get paid.

This can be considered a good thing, albeit barely.

Sano continued biting his thumb, never expecting that after so many days, he would have to follow someone again... No, wait, if you think about it carefully, he had followed quite a few people in order to complete system protection tasks.

Even Kogoro Mouri was among them.

Ugh... thinking about it like that suddenly makes me feel nauseous.

Sano shivered and quickly shook off those unclean thoughts from his mind.

After setting the surveillance times for the three groups, the pre-battle meeting was considered over.

Just before leaving, Gin called Sano over, leaned down and whispered in his ear, "This mission might be dangerous, so don't be impulsive. Also, watch out for Bourbon."

Sano raised an eyebrow and glanced at Gin with some surprise.

In the eyes of the other party, is Shuichi Akai really that dangerous? And lastly, does Gin also suspect that Tooru Amuro is a rat?

Sano glanced again at Amuro Tooru, who was looking back from the doorway, and calmly nodded: "I understand."

Beside Amuro Tooru, Vodka, who had also come out earlier, was looking at him with a strange gaze.

The intensity of his gaze was palpable even through his sunglasses.

Amuro Tooru looked over in confusion: "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Vodka shook his head vigorously, but after hesitating for a while, he patted Amuro Tooru on the shoulder and swallowed back the words "Good luck to you" and only said "Be careful in everything".

Amuro Tooru blinked a few times, thinking that Vodka was warning him to be careful that Shuichi Akai might appear, and immediately smiled confidently: "Don't worry, if Shuichi Akai really appears, I will definitely kill him with my own hands... and the only one who can kill him is me."

Vodka opened his mouth, wanting to say, "I'm warning you not about Akai, but about Rye," but considering that Sano was right behind him, he ultimately kept quiet.

I don't know what my older brother was thinking. He knew that teaming up with Sano would easily lead to deaths, yet he still arranged for Bourbon to team up with him.

Chapter 173, page 172: Is this an attempt to bomb the Tokyo Tower?

Isn't this just pure harm?

Wait a moment?

Could it be...?

Is this what my older brother really wants?

Actually, his older brother had long disliked Bourbon, which is why he deliberately arranged things this way—was he trying to kill him?

Vodka felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had discovered the truth.

...Well, Vodka knew very well that his older brother would never do something like abusing his power for personal gain or settling personal scores, given his personality.

Unless Bourbon has truly committed some taboo, Gin would not have a legitimate reason to kill him.

In any case, as a colleague, Vodka felt he had done everything he could for Bourbon.

Otherwise, if things go too far, the danger won't be bourbon, but the vodka itself.

As the saying goes, "Better to die a friend than to die a poor monk..."

Let's just pray for Bourbon silently, Amen...

After leaving the cocktail bar and going downstairs, the six people went their separate ways.

Of course, as teammates with Amuro Tooru, and also because it was the first day that Sano's group was keeping watch, Sano and Amuro Tooru got into the same car.

"Can you drive?"

After getting into the car, Amuro Tooru's first words were a question.

Is this already the beginning of testing the waters?

Sano fastened his seatbelt and chose to answer truthfully: "I would, but I don't have a driver's license, or rather, even if I did, I wouldn't be able to use it."

Amuro Tooru raised an eyebrow: "What, is your face wanted by the authorities?"

"Guess."

Sano took a lollipop out of his pocket and handed it to Amuro Tooru: "Here, a little something to mark our meeting."

Amuro Tooru narrowed his eyes, hesitated for less than a second, and then took the lollipop: "Thank you."

Of course, Amuro Tooru did not eat the lollipop immediately, nor did he intend to. He simply placed it aside, planning to have it thoroughly tested when he returned.

...Normally speaking, why would a terrorist carry a lollipop with him?

They're not children, it looks suspicious no matter how you look at it, okay?

Who knows what's actually in those lollipops?

...Is this a suspicion that you poisoned the lollipop?

Sano glanced at Amuro Tooru out of the corner of his eye, pursed his lips, and thought to himself, "My good intentions have been taken for granted. I really want to take it back; after all, I paid for it."

As for why Sano suddenly started wearing candy, we have to mention an idea he had the day before yesterday.

That is, although explosive gloves can be used to switch bombs anytime and anywhere, not every place will have something suitable to be used as a bomb.

Therefore, Sano often carried some bomb conversion devices on his person in case of unforeseen circumstances.

In any case, even if something is converted into a bomb, neither its appearance nor its internal structure will change—Sano has tested this.

After a stone is transformed and cut in half, it is still a stone inside, so there is no need to worry about any problems being detected.

...It's perfect for carrying out terrorist attacks.

Sano used to use things like stones, which are basically ubiquitous. But if you think about it carefully, it's a bit strange that he always carries a bunch of heavy stones on his back.

If you are searched, it won't be to the extent of being caught carrying a firearm, as mentioned before, but it will still be quite troublesome.

But Sano didn't know what else to use as a bomb converter so as not to seem too strange.

Then, by chance, Sano saw that little girl named Hana downstairs in his building again.

...At that moment, Sano looked at the little girl who was licking a lollipop and realized that the reason she had "guarded the wrong door" last time was because her door was exactly the same as Sano's door, but that didn't matter.

The important thing is that after Sano pulled his lollipop out of the little girl's mouth and weighed it, he was surprised to find that its weight was just right for making a bomb.

Furthermore, carrying lollipops with you is unlikely to arouse suspicion, and you can even use excuses like low blood sugar to cover it up.

And so inspiration was born.

After stuffing the lollipop back into the mouth of the pitiful little girl looking at him, Sano's usual rock bomb successfully evolved into a candy bomb.

Yes, it's a real candy bomb.

...Of course, Sano only had some lollipops on him as bomb conversion materials; he hadn't converted them all.

That wouldn't be convenient to use either.

Therefore, the lollipop that Amuro Tooru received was just a normal, harmless lollipop, not a bomb.

I think so. I shouldn't have taken the wrong one, right?

With this thought in mind, Sano suddenly began to doubt himself, just like he would doubt whether he had turned off the tap or locked the door every day after leaving the house.

While Sano was lost in thought, Amuro Tooru had already started the car and slowly drove off. After a while, it quickly stopped in a parking space opposite a bank, across the street, directly facing the bank's entrance.

Amuro Tooru unbuckled his seatbelt and took out a pair of binoculars: "So, day/night shift?"

"Let's continue with shifts every four hours. Staying up for too long at once might cause us to lose focus. If we overlook any details, or if Shuichi Akai shows up and a fight breaks out, things could go wrong for us."

Sano said casually, then put on his hoodie hood, pulled down the brim of his hat, and reclined his seat: "Call me again in four hours."

Amuro Tooru looked at Sano, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.