Stay away from Conan.

"This is getting more and more interesting!"

While Gin and Vodka were discussing this in the bar, Vermouth, in a different location, in her high-rise apartment, looked at the chat interface on her computer screen. Having seemingly finished a conversation and learned some new information, Vermouth leaned back in her chair, a slightly amused smile playing on her lips.

After all, even Vermouth herself seemed to have not anticipated that things would develop to this point...

At the beginning, he used the antidote he had taken from Sherry to feed her instead, which caused Sherry to reappear...

This scenario was part of what I had envisioned, and even with some preparation and the involvement of Bourbon, I suppose...

Given that they were able to retaliate against Gin and his group to such an extent when they were in Hokkaido, they should be able to get through this pursuit safely, right?

The only question is, to what extent can they achieve this...

However, this is not something I need to consider. Letting Sherry show herself, letting Rum and the others know that I haven't been idle, and then using them to cut back on the parts that need to be dealt with, is enough.

Ultimately, Rum's decision to call Gin back was expected. After all, having gained a deeper understanding of Sherry and the power behind her, Rum would inevitably need to find someone who could immediately return to take charge.

Naturally, the only suitable candidate for this role is Gin.

Previous events, while pushing Gin away from Japan and effectively excluding him, also kept him away from the center of the conflict...

In this way, if Gin and the others are not in Japan, any actions I take next will not affect them.

Therefore, given Rum's personality, it would be almost inevitable that he would call Gin back after his own actions failed. After all, Gin's problems had always been questionable, and Rum couldn't really give up on Gin based on the doubts that a few actions had revealed.

Furthermore, in this operation, it was unexpected that Bourbon, who almost clashed head-on with Shuichi Akai, would ultimately be the one to escape completely unscathed.

However, it was precisely because he escaped unscathed that Rum became even more convinced of Sherry's connection to the FBI. From this perspective, Gao Yuan and his team's decision not to go all out against Bourbon was actually in line with their own goals. As a result, Rum turned his attention back to the FBI and began to pay close attention to the disappearance of Gil.

In this way, the preparations I had made beforehand came in even more useful.

Even with Gin's return, the issues he faces will ultimately revolve around the Kir incident. To confirm Kir's location, which means finding the FBI's infiltrator, Gin must rely on someone who "already knows their location"...

Although I could roughly determine the basic area of ​​the FBI's base, but...

There was no need for me to give such a precise answer so directly. So, naturally, I could use the excuse of "further locating the location" to mobilize more peripheral members, and the original goal of my operation could still be achieved.

Moreover, to be honest, all I originally intended to do was this one thing, but who would have thought that by contacting these peripheral members, I would learn a lot about what they saw from their perspective, which led to the current situation.

Like Shimizu Reiko, a member who had always been proactive in realizing her value, she unexpectedly came into contact with Kudo Shinichi and his group disguised as Kaito Kid during her criminal activities. This made her realize something—Rum and Gin didn't truly recognize the value of the peripheral members. They only used them occasionally when needed, and otherwise basically ignored them. But in reality…

Just how many details do these guys, lurking in every aspect of society, possess that are worth paying attention to? It is through these seemingly insignificant details that they can sometimes achieve perfect infiltration. It's like a net that has already been laid out; as long as you go a little deeper, this net can play an unimaginable role, capturing things that would normally be impossible to capture.

For example, in the recent case of Kyosuke Kazato shooting a detective at a hospital, we only needed to slightly mobilize some people who were already involved in the case within the hospital to basically figure out the cause and effect of the whole incident, and then take the opportunity to contact the psychologist...

However, Gin and his group only used them as tools, occasionally using them to assist in encirclement and suppression operations as before, completely unaware that they were not actually good at these things.

From a practical standpoint, expecting to cultivate individuals like Gin from among these people is a complete waste of their potential; they have a more suitable battlefield.

But precisely because of this, these peripheral members are now truly worthy of our utmost fear.

A net that can't be used to its fullest potential, yet it's spread out so wide...

Ah……

Since things are as they are, there's no need for me to change anything; I can just continue pursuing my goals.

As for the accident that just happened, the memory card that was taken by someone unknown, the occurrence of this incident...

It doesn't matter, since I'm not in charge of the operation now. Gin and his team have chosen to take a risky approach by targeting the Metropolitan Police Department's superintendent position. If something goes wrong, I won't be held responsible.

But, I wonder if Gao Yuan and Conan will realize what has happened?
or……

With this in mind, Vermouth opened an email address on her computer screen—the very email address she used to contact Gao Yuan.

That night, after confirming that Sherry and the others were safely out of danger, he tried to invite them to participate in some of his plans, but...

Clearly, they are still wary of their actions that night, and have yet to give a response.

So, should we just be direct this time and give them a heads-up?
Or should we continue to believe that they can overcome this difficulty?
Just as Vermouth was pondering this, she suddenly received an email in her long-dormant inbox!
Seeing this, Vermouth couldn't help but curl up her lips slightly...

……

Meanwhile, in the basement of the Akechi residence—

At that moment, Ai glanced back at Gao Yuan, who had chosen to sleep in the basement, and then noticed her attention shift to the computer in front of her. On the open email screen, Gao Yuan looked serious, as if she had made a decision… (End of Chapter)