Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 315: The Fallen Angel Xiaolan is Terribly Strong! However...

boom--! ! !
The loud sound of the sniper rifle came late, and Xiaolan had already retreated to the living room, the blind spot of the sniper opposite the building.

There was a burning pain on her cheek, but she ignored it and just lowered her center of gravity to look for Vermouth who was hiding on the edge of the balcony.

boom--!
There was a gunshot on the balcony. Vermouth's shooting skills were good and he almost grazed Xiaolan's arm as she quickly retracted it.

Xiaolan took two steps back again, using the balcony glass door as the boundary, one inside and one outside, and the situation became deadlocked.

"When did you find out?" Vermouth asked again.

"Where is Ying now? Have you controlled him?" Xiaolan asked instead of answering.

"Suigetsu Hotaru is a devil. He has killed more people than you can imagine!"

"I have my own judgment. Besides, you killed and dismembered three people from the Qingliu family. What qualifications do you have to say these things?"

"That wasn't me!"

"Who is that?!"

"Of course it's Mizuki Hotaru!"

"Still spitting blood!"

Xiaolan picked up a water cup on the coffee table and threw it towards the edge of the balcony, making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. She was about to rush out and shoot Vermouth twice.

But as soon as she took a step, she immediately noticed that the curtains of a house on the same floor as her in the opposite building were pulled open. She quickly turned around and ran to the door.

By the time Vermouth realized she had been tricked, she hid and looked out.

Bang-!
All I saw was a door slammed shut.

For fear of being attacked from behind, Vermouth did not dare to chase out immediately, but after a few breaths, she heard the sound of iron chains shaking outside the door.

Vermouth knew that Xiaolan's thoughts were much more profound than before. In order to avoid a trap, she still did not dare to go out rashly and just continued to wait.

After the shaking of the iron chain outside the door stopped and there was no sound of voices, she moved quietly towards the door, while quietly reminding her companions.

"Suiyue Yingsheng may have other accomplices, please move to another location."

After a few breaths without receiving a response, Vermouth frowned slightly: "Do you want to terminate the cooperation now? Binga, Gin has woken up, you are definitely not his opponent." She waited for a few seconds, still no one responded, her eyes were cold, "I heard a reply."

still none.

Vermouth suddenly thought of something, took out her cell phone and looked at it, her pupils suddenly contracted.

Signal zero, Angel used a signal jammer!

Vermouth's mind raced, and she immediately guessed that Xiaolan might have discovered her problem in the alley, but when she said that "she has been in contact with the police", she held back for the time being and waited until she disconnected the contact before taking action.

The main purpose of Xiaolan's ambiguous words was to make her take the initiative to cut off contact with the outside world.

If she didn't know Xiaolan's character very well and knew that she would never do such a thing, she would have been in trouble at that moment!

When Xiaolan realized that she was exposed, she immediately dodged bullets, fired guns, and interfered with signals in one go.

Thinking of this, Vermouth’s mood became more complicated.

Angel actually carries a pistol and a signal jammer with him, and his observation skills have become so sharp.

What on earth did that bastard Mizutsuki Hotaru instill in Angel? Angel has become such a stranger!

Vermouth walked to the door, picked up a photo frame on the shoe cabinet and put it through the peephole. She waited for two seconds, and when the photo frame was not broken, she put it back in its original place.

By the way, I took a look at the picture above. It is a dozen gray, white and black circles and rectangles intertwined together. The meaning is unclear, and it has a postmodern style.

Vermouth leaned over to look out through the peephole and noticed that the door handle seemed to be locked with an iron chain.

Due to her limited viewing angle, she couldn't see either end of the chain.

Vermouth frowned slightly and tried to turn the door handle, but failed to open it despite great effort.

Angel was trying to trap herself, so she went to ask for help?

Vermouth knocked on the door with her knuckles and found that the door was as heavy as that of her high-end apartment. She could not open it by herself.

Vermouth suddenly felt that she didn't have to refuse Binga's suggestion to find someone to help her.

Although Binga seems to have bad intentions at first glance, compared to Angel's difficulty, Binga seems much gentler and harmless.

After listening at the door for a few seconds and finding the corridor outside was silent, Vermouth immediately strode towards the balcony.

Angel's reinforcements may arrive at any time, so he must hurry.

Is it impossible to get out if the door is locked?
Vermouth walked to the balcony railing with a slight smile on her face. After all, Angel still had too little experience.

It’s just jumping off a building, is it that difficult?
I leaned out and looked at the balcony downstairs. There was nothing on the railing and only a few small pots of green plants below. It looked quite empty.

Vermouth was absolutely confident at this height. She put away her pistol, grabbed the railing with one hand, and jumped out.

When her body was pressed against the railing under the action of gravity, she loosened her grip and her body fell freely.

Snapped--!
His right hand grabbed the edge of the balcony again.

At a height that makes many people feel dizzy at the sight of it, Vermouth swung lightly in the air, released her right hand, and her body drew a graceful arc like a cat, landing accurately and lightly on the balcony downstairs.

Vermouth stood up and walked into the living room. She saw a human figure drawn with white chalk on the crimson carpet and her eyebrows raised slightly.

This is actually a murder scene?
It's just downstairs from that bastard Shuiyue Yingsheng. Maybe it has something to do with him.

Vermouth looked around and walked towards the bedroom in the suite. Her identity as "Kudo Shinichi" had been exposed, so she needed to change her disguise.

Although she was carrying other clothes, just like a power bank, she would of course give priority to using the charger where there was one.

Entering the bedroom, Vermouth learned the identity of the owner of the house from two photo frames.

One is a group photo of the four members of the Earth Ladies Team.

One photo shows Yoko Okino wearing a white coat and a red scarf, raising her hand and blowing gently on the street where snow is falling. It looks like a still from a TV series.

Vermouth is not sure whether the dead person outside is the owner of the room, Yoko Okino, and plans to disguise herself as Kaoru Kusano.

Since they are good friends, it is only natural for Kaoru Kusano to come and visit.

Vermouth reached down to her chin and gently lifted it up. A human skin mask was removed, revealing her true delicate facial features underneath.

She crumpled the human skin mask, intending to reuse the material, and at this moment, she suddenly felt something cold pressing against the back of her head.

"You have nowhere to escape, Vermouth."

This is Xiaolan's voice.

Vermouth felt mixed emotions and slowly raised her hand.

What happened upstairs before has proved that Xiaolan definitely dares to shoot, rather than simply threatening her. Naturally, Vermouth does not dare to risk her life.

"You locked the door with a chain. Was it just a trap?"

Vermouth asked, her voice had given up the disguise and returned to its original mature voice.

"Of course, it's not like I haven't jumped off the balcony before, so there's no way I would ignore something like this."

Not only that, but many times.

Xiaolan grabbed both of Vermouth's wrists with her left hand and put them behind her back. She put away the gun with her right hand, reached forward to untie the tie of Vermouth's Didi Dan school uniform, and tied her hands tightly.

During this process, Vermouth did think about resisting, but Xiaolan was much stronger than her, so she had no choice but to give up and sighed softly.

"Angel, you've really become a completely different person."

"A lot of people say this, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it. If I hadn't been more decisive before, I would be the one being subdued now," said Xiaolan.

"But if you hadn't gotten so close to Mizuki Hotaru, you wouldn't have encountered these dangers!"

"That's hard to say. Didn't you involve Shinichi as well? Aoyagi-san's family has been hit by an unexpected disaster."

"I already said it was Shuiyue Yingsheng who did it!"

"I don't believe your nonsense."

Xiaolan took the human skin mask from Vermouth, unfolded it and took a look at it, then put it in her pocket.

Xiaolan made Vermouth kneel on the ground and searched her body carefully, finding many different props.

Vermouth didn't mind being searched closely by Angel, but she felt helpless as she saw with her own eyes that her hope of escape was becoming increasingly slim.

"Angel, how on earth did you find out something was wrong?"

Xiaolan did not answer, but used the small tweezers she found during the body search to gently pick out the soybean-sized hidden earphones from Vermouth's ears.

Xiaolan was able to see what was wrong with Vermouth, and the reason was very simple.

Yingsheng told her at noon that Kudo Shinichi asked him to keep an eye on the area around Aoyagi Chiso and watch out for any suspicious persons.

Xiaolan knew that Chiso Aoyagi had gone to the Metropolitan Police Department in the morning, where she was asked many questions by the police, and Shinichi Kudo was also present.

So in the alley, when Vermouth disguised as Kudo Shinichi asked Aoyagi Chiso those questions again, Xiaolan immediately knew that he was disguised by someone else.

And Chiso Aoyagi was aware of this, and when Vermouth asked her those questions, she did not mention the police at all.

Xiaolan wanted to take action at that time, but Vermouth was always in communication with others, so she gave up the idea.

and……

Vermouth said that Yingsheng killed her parents and buried them under the wisteria trellis, which still caused a great psychological shock to Xiaolan.

Xiaolan wanted to see with her own eyes whether there were the remains of the Shuiyue couple under the lush wisteria, so things became what they are now.

I'm sorry, Ying, I still don't trust you enough.

After silently saying sorry to Yingsheng in her heart, Xiaolan found the remote control of the hidden headphones and turned it off.

Xiaolan thought again, since there was a sniper hiding in the building opposite, this seemed to be the best outcome.

Otherwise, if he attacked Vermouth as soon as she entered 2602, although he could subdue her easily, out of curiosity, she would still go to the balcony alone to dig the soil, and then she would be directly exposed to the opponent's sniper gun.

At that time, the opponent would not first put up a red dot to threaten you, but would just shoot directly.

Sniper bullets are faster than sound. By the time you hear the sound, the person is already dead.

It seems that I am not cautious enough.

Ending her thoughts with this conclusion, Xiaolan turned off the signal jammer, dialed Kudo Shinichi's number, and waited about ten seconds before the call was connected.

"Hey, Xiaolan, what do you want from Shinichi?"

It's Dr. Agasa's voice.

Xiaolan said calmly: "Doctor, I want to ask if Shinichi is still alive."

"Ah? Of course he's still alive, Xiaolan, why do you think so? Wait a moment, I'll let Shinichi talk to you right away."

In a laboratory in Agasa's house, a fat, bald old man in a white coat looked panicked.

On the table in front of him, a fake child wearing black-framed glasses also looked panicked, pointed at his mouth, and waved his hands at Dr. Agasa. Dr. Agasa threw him down, quickly found a bow in the cardboard box next to him, and connected it to the computer with a data cable.

After typing on the keyboard for about ten seconds at a speed so fast that only afterimages could be seen with the naked eye, Professor Agasa pulled off the bow tie, stuffed it into Conan's hand, and whispered something in his ear.

"The voice cloning has been completed, Shinichi, just speak directly to it."

Conan was skeptical. Could the doctor be so reliable?
However, the situation was urgent, so he immediately said to Butterfly: "Hey, Xiaolan."

He stopped here, preparing to add the suffix "sister" immediately if the voice was wrong, but as soon as he finished speaking, he was surprised to find that the voice coming from the bow was indeed his past voice, so he hurriedly continued.

"I was just in the bathroom, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"How are you feeling?" Xiaolan asked.

"Uh... not bad."

"How are you feeling?"

"That's fine, what do you want to say?"

"Nothing, have you been busy investigating a case recently?"

"Yes, as you know, a lot of things have happened recently, Xiaolan, you should also pay attention to your safety."

"Thank you for your hard work. By the way, a kid named Conan has moved into Inspector Megure's home. Have you met him? I think he looks a lot like you, and he also likes Sherlock Holmes and reasoning. I think you two will get along well."

Conan scratched his head awkwardly: "I have met him, he is indeed a very smart kid." He paused, "Um... Xiaolan, Conan told me that you are also good at reasoning now, and you also read Sherlock Holmes?"

Xiaolan smiled softly: "After all, this is a list of books recommended to me by someone, of course I will read it."

"Eh?! I..."

Conan's face suddenly turned red, and a lot of heat came out of his head.

"Okay, I won't delay your business. See you later, Shinichi."

Xiaolan hung up the phone and looked at Vermouth who was looking at the ground.

"I'm glad you didn't hurt innocent people. But I don't understand why you chose him to disguise yourself when I could contact Shinichi at any time to verify? Do you think I'm a complete fool and think I can't see through your disguise?"

Vermouth remained silent, but her eyes were wide open and filled with ecstasy.

Cool Guy he is not dead!!!

really!

APTX-4869 developed by Shirley is a life-saving miracle drug. Cool Guy screamed at that time only because the drug was too strong!
Damn it, she had misunderstood.

It was all Shirley's fault that she was half-baked and didn't even remove the side effects of drug A, causing Cool Guy to suffer severe pain!
But fortunately, as long as you save your life, everything else is just trivial.

For some reason, Vermouth's hatred for the Miyano family's bloodline disappeared a lot, and she thought that if she caught Shirley later, she could show mercy to her and let her die quickly.

Although……

Vermouth still has no idea how to escape.

Seeing that Vermouth didn't say anything, Xiaolan continued: "I have already told you the reason why I saw through you. I know Shinichi is somewhere else. How did you find out my problem? From what you said, you seem to know me very well?"

Vermouth was silent for a few breaths: "A year ago, in New York, you and Kudo Shinichi saved a man together."

Xiaolan thought for two seconds, then suddenly realized, "That silver-haired killer is you? Is that why you have a crush on Shinichi?"

"Why, do you regret saving me?"

"No, didn't Shinichi say that at the time? You don't need a reason to save someone."

Xiaolan sighed softly: "The only pity is that I was too weak mentally and physically at the time, and I fainted due to the fever. Otherwise, I could have brought you to justice at that time, and none of these things would have happened later."

"Ah…"

Vermouth's eyes were complicated: "It seems that you are still an Angel, but unfortunately, you are no longer my Angel."

"I don't think I'm an angel, more like an outlaw." Xiaolan held the earphone in front of Vermouth, "Can you call your companions over? This should be able to offset some of your sins."

With the previous case of Yueying Island, Xiaolan is now quite interested in fishing enforcement.

Vermouth shook her head: "He's not stupid. I've been out of touch for so long, he will definitely find something wrong."

"Then it depends on your words. The famous Thousand-Faced Witch should be very good at this."

"Is this a test?"

"of course not."

"Forget it. I don't believe you dare to give me this opportunity. Who knows if we have agreed on any secret code in advance."

Xiaolan smiled, crushed the hidden earphones, collected all of Vermouth's small props, and pulled her up.

"Actually, I didn't think about what you said at all. You missed a good opportunity."

Vermouth chuckled: "My Angel is already falling into hell. I don't believe what you said."

"When that person realizes something is wrong, will he come to rescue you, or will he leave on his own?"

"He might try to kill us all."

Xiaolan thought for two seconds and called Yingsheng, but the call was not connected. She looked at the time and it was exactly three o'clock in the afternoon.

"Who has Ying now?" she asked.

"How would I know such a thing?"

Vermouth raised the corners of her lips slightly: "Angel, Shuiyue Yingsheng is not a good person. It would be best if he died. Why should you care about him? Isn't it good for you and Cool Guy to be together forever?"

Xiaolan pushed her out and smiled softly: "Wouldn't it be better to give Shinichi to you? You like him, right? He also has a good impression of you."

"........."

Vermouth inexplicably felt that her Angel was now developing into her type, and was no longer as shy as before when talking about feelings.

Although such an Angel was indeed very powerful and made her somewhat admire him, but...

"Angel isn't as cute as before."

Vermouth thought so and said it out loud.

Xiaolan nodded and said, "Hina told me that the adjective cute is often used to describe the objectified gaze of the 'big other' on the lower level. For example, we often say that kittens, puppies, and children are cute, but we rarely say that people in a higher position are cute. At most, we just say that they are humorous and funny.

If you always pursue 'cuteness' as a standard, you will only objectify yourself. If you say I am not as cute as before, that is a good thing for me."

Vermouth was stunned for two seconds and was speechless.

"Does Shuiyue Ying always tell you this?"

"There are some others, such as torture methods." Xiaolan turned around and smiled, "Ms. Vermouth, we have now hired a professional torturer. If you confess to me as soon as possible, you can suffer less."

"..."

Angel must have fallen into hell now.

Great sorrow.

Her Morning Star feels like it’s about to become Lucifer.

"Angel, you..."

Vermouth suddenly paused, a dark look flashed in her eyes, and she lowered her head slightly.

"I am still a member of the organization. Shuiyue Yingsheng is in our hands. His current address is..."

Vermouth's voice became softer and softer towards the end. Xiaolan listened carefully but couldn't hear anything and frowned slightly.

"where is it?"

“Here…”

"???What?"

Vermouth suddenly raised her head: "I said, Shuiyue Yingsheng is right here!"

Xiaolan suddenly realized something was wrong and looked back.

Bang——! ! !
Xiaolan suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, her vision went black, and her body slowly fell to the ground.

The last thing she saw was a black leather jacket and two tufts of thin, curly hair in front of his forehead.

Mizuno Rena...

Oh no, it turns out that she is also from the winery.

Why is she here...

Before any doubts could fully arise in Xiaolan's mind, her consciousness had completely disappeared.

pat-

The pistol in Xiaolan's pocket fell to the ground.

Vermouth looked at the fallen Xiaolan and said sorry to Angel in her heart. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with the cold smile of absinthe.

"Kil, I didn't expect it was you who saved me."

Rena Mizunashi's eyes flashed, and she turned the gun handle that she had just used to hit Xiaolan back to the right position and aimed at Vermouth.

"I'm not here to rescue you."

Vermouth narrowed her eyes slightly: "Are you going to betray the organization?"

Mizuno Reina sneered: "The fact that you can say such things means that you have not returned to the organization at all."

"!! You have already betrayed the organization?!"

Vermouth's pupils suddenly shrank. Oh no, she had just escaped from the tiger's den and entered a wolf's lair. If she had known this would be the case, she might as well have let Angel be captured!

"Aren't you also a traitor? Do you still want to condemn me?"

Rena Mizunashi waved the gun at Vermouth, signaling her to return to the bedroom she had just been in.

The situation was stronger than the person, and Vermouth had no choice but to do as she was told, but she still gritted her teeth and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Don't think too much, I'm just passing by."

Of course what Rena Mizunoshi said was a lie. She was here mainly to hide from the organization.

The death of Yoko Okino was also related to her. She hid here to hide from the public, but she didn't expect to have such an unexpected gain.

"Brother Maori, you said you overlooked a detail last time, what was it?"

Suddenly, the voice of Megure Jusan was heard from outside the door.

(End of this chapter)