Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Vermouth ran wildly through the night.

Her breathing was rapid and erratic, and her chest heaved violently.

Just as she suddenly darted out from behind cover, preparing to use the momentum of her sprint to leap over the highway guardrail...

"Buzz—!!!"

Two blinding high beams appeared without warning.

Vermouth's pupils suddenly contracted.

A black Porsche 356A rammed directly into her face.

In a life-or-death moment, Vermouth unleashed astonishing potential, twisting her waist sharply and attempting to roll to the right to evade.

But the Porsche was just too fast.

"Bang--!!!"

The Porsche 356A's hard front end grazed Vermouth's right side.

Even though she managed to dodge, she was still thrown into the air.

She rolled several times on the asphalt road before finally crashing heavily into the metal guardrail on the side of the road and barely coming to a stop.

"Cough...cough..."

Not far away, the black Porsche came to a steady stop in the middle of the road after drifting.

The car door opened, and Gin got out of the driver's seat.

He fiddled with the Beretta pistol in his hand, walked up to Vermouth, and looked down at her.

"Vermouth?"

When Gin saw that face clearly, he was completely stunned.

His hand holding the gun paused slightly, clearly taken aback.

How could it be Vermouth?

Vermouth struggled to sit up, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand: "Gin, what's wrong with you?"

"I should be asking you what's wrong with you," Gin said coldly, the gun still pointed at her.

The situation was more complicated than he had imagined.

The original information indicated that Rena Mizunashi was involved with a certain high school student, but then the clues strangely connected to Nami herself.

He set up this trap to catch Bourbon, but unexpectedly, the one he pulled out of the net was Vermouth.

Gin narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone chilling: "You'd better give me a reasonable explanation. Why are you here, and why are you furtively firing a gun?"

Vermouth clutched her ribs, enduring the excruciating pain, but quickly put on a wronged and innocent expression.

She sighed softly: "Are you interrogating me? I'm your comrade."

"Don't give me that crap," Gin scoffed.

Vermouth bit her lip and said, "I just felt that the high school student's appearance was too suspicious. I was afraid you would fall into a trap, so I fired a shot to warn you."

Gin didn't speak, but just looked at her coldly, signaling her to continue.

“I was worried you’d fallen into someone’s trap, so I wanted to keep an eye on you secretly,” Vermouth said, shrugging her shoulders with an air of self-righteousness.

Gin said coldly, "You should be monitoring Bourbon right now, not showing up here."

Vermouth met his gaze without backing down: "Gin, have you been too tense lately? You're always doubting Bourbon, doubting this, doubting that."

I've been monitoring him for so long and haven't found anything wrong with him. Besides, I can't just keep watching him while he sleeps.

Vermouth gently tapped the barrel of Gin's gun and whispered, "You don't really want to kill me, do you?"

"Or rather, do you think I'm a traitor or an undercover agent?"

Gin remained unmoved.

Vermouth said, "Ahem, it seems we haven't heard from the boss in a long time. You're actually thinking of killing me."

"Shut up!"

Gin stared coldly at Vermouth and put his gun away.

Vermouth continued to lament, "Looks like I still need to find someone to back me up, otherwise you'll just kill me off so easily."

She looked at Gin and said, "What do you think about me getting Rum as my backer?"

"No." She quickly dismissed her own opinion: "Rum still won't work. I feel that having Zheng Yi as my backer would be much better. If Zheng Yi were to protect me, you probably wouldn't kill me, right?"

Vermouth thought about how well Sherry was doing with Zheng Yi, and felt that she might as well give it a try.

When the time comes, she'll take some drug A too. If she dies, she dies; if she doesn't, she'll go and become Zheng Yi's younger sister.

Gin said coldly, "You'd better explain what your relationship is with that high school student."

“I have nothing to do with any high school students,” Vermouth said. “I’ve already told you why I shot.”

"You'd better think carefully before you speak," Gin said in a low voice.

Vermouth leaned against the cold metal railing, clutching her aching ribs, yet still smiled with captivating charm.

"Gin, how can you be so heartless?" She sighed softly. "I stayed up all night and came to this desolate place, all for you?"

“I heard you’re going bourbon fishing tonight, and I’m really worried about you,” Vermouth continued.

"You don't trust me?" Gin sneered. "So you fired at the organization's people?"

"Oh dear, that was an accident." Vermouth looked innocent. "I actually wanted to shoot that fake high school student, but I haven't fired a gun in so long that my accuracy isn't very good."

Gin stared at her, not believing such nonsense at all.

“If you don’t want to be left here, tell the truth,” Gin said.

Vermouth tilted her head: "I'm telling the truth."

Gin stared at her expressionlessly.

Vermouth slid down the metal railing and sat down on the ground.

She clutched her right ribs tightly with one hand and covered her mouth with the other, letting out two suppressed coughs.

"Ahem..." Vermouth raised her head, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Gin, have you forgotten how badly I'm injured?" she gasped, her voice so weak it sounded like she might die at any moment.

"You almost broke my ribs just now. You should take me to the hospital first."

"I'm about to die." Vermouth looked at Gin with resentment. "Are you going to continue interrogating me here?"

Gin's face darkened.

“You better not be faking your death,” Gin said, emphasizing each word.

"How could I dare..." Vermouth looked weak, her voice growing softer and softer.

"Shouldn't you take me to the hospital before interrogating me? After all... if I die, you won't be able to get anything out of me."

Seeing Vermouth in such a wretched state, Gin still didn't abandon her there.

“Vodka, take Vermouth to the hospital,” Gin ordered.

"Yes!"

Vermouth struggled to her feet: "By the way, Gin, where did you find that high school student?"

“I didn’t find him,” Gin said. “I don’t know his situation either. The people I arranged haven’t arrived yet.”

"Ok?"

Vermouth's expression at that moment was very complicated.

Could that high school student who looks like Shinichi be someone Shoichi arranged?
……

Poirot Cafe has already closed.

After the last customer left, Bourbon skillfully put the tables and chairs back in their places and wiped down the bar.

At this moment, he was thinking about the organization's operation yesterday.

"Vermouth?"

Bourbon didn't quite catch on.

Why was it Vermouth who was arrested?

Isn't Gin trying to hook him?

But what Gin ultimately lured out was Vermouth?
Wasn't Vermouth just monitoring him? Why is she the one who got arrested?
Amuro Tooru's mind raced.

So, what is the reason for Vermouth's appearance?
Surely I can't take the blame for him all at once?

Bourbon couldn't understand it.

Thankfully, he didn't go out.

If he had truly succumbed to temptation last night and stepped into the trap because of that suspicious high school student's clue, he might be the one arrested now. And Gin would never treat him the way he treated Vermouth.

Even if Vermouth is captured, Gin will not kill her.

But he's different.

Vermouth is far more trustworthy than him.

Amuro Tooru stopped what he was doing, folded the rag, and put it aside.

I really don't understand what's going on.

Things happening within the organization are becoming increasingly unpredictable.

……

What's the situation with Vermouth?

Zheng Yi stood in front of the hospital bed, looking at Vermouth, who looked perfectly healthy, with a puzzled expression.

Gin looked embarrassed: "I don't know."

After Vermouth was taken to the hospital, she fell into a coma, and the doctors couldn't find a specific cause.

Zheng Yi said, "Could she be faking it?"

"do not know."

He swung his fist at Vermouth's head, but she didn't react at all.

Zheng Yi suggested, "Why don't we try covering her nose?"

Gin said coldly, "Are you going to kill her?"

Gin has tried it before.

However, Vermouth's behavior still conformed to the normal reactions of a person in a coma.

The electrocardiogram monitor is beeping.

Zheng Yi stood in front of the hospital bed, arms crossed, looking down at Vermouth lying on the bed.

Her complexion was rosy, and her breathing was steady. Apart from her tightly closed eyes, she looked healthier than any other healthy person.

After a brief silence.

“However,” Zheng Yi suddenly said, “Bourbon is far too suspicious.”

Gin frowned slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes: "Why?"

Why did you bring up the topic of bourbon again?

Zheng Yi shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "Isn't it obvious? Vermouth is clearly taking the fall for Bourbon."

She showed up in the trap you set last night, in place of Bourbon, and is now stubbornly refusing to wake up, clearly to avoid betraying Bourbon.

As Zheng Yi spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Vermouth's face.

The moment he finished speaking, Vermouth, who was lying on the bed, slightly curled her right index finger, which was resting on the bed.

After listening to Shoichi's analysis, Gin frowned even more deeply.

He scoffed at Zheng Yi's reasoning.

“Bourbon?” Gin sneered. “What makes him so special?”

Gin couldn't fathom what Bourbon had that would make Vermouth take the fall for him.

Zheng Yi casually remarked, "Maybe Bourbon is a member of the Japanese Public Security Bureau and recruited Vermouth."

"Oh."

Gin sneered, not believing that Vermouth would betray the organization.

Suddenly, a series of unhurried footsteps came from outside the ward.

"Squeak-"

The ward door was pushed open, and a familiar blond head was the first thing to come into view.

Bourbon walked in carrying a beautifully wrapped flower basket.

Shoichi and Gin glanced back simultaneously, then looked away together.

Zheng Yi composed himself and stopped mentioning that Vermouth had taken the blame for Bourbon.

Gin didn't say anything, and didn't even change his posture.

He simply turned his head slowly, his gaze towards Bourbon now tinged with suspicion.

What is he doing here in Vermouth?
The moment Bourbon pushed open the door, he sensed that the atmosphere here was very strange.

He was unaware of the situation.

He walked to the bedside and gently placed the flower basket he was carrying on the bedside table.

“I heard she had an accident, so I came to see her,” Bourbon said. “I really didn’t expect this… I just saw her yesterday.”

Gin's gaze remained fixed on Naruto, not missing a single micro-expression.

"Oh?" Gin asked, "Yesterday? Where did you meet them?"

“In a coffee shop,” Bourbon said casually.

Gin stared at him for a full three seconds before slowly looking away.

Bourbon frowned.

He came here to see if he could gather any information, but why are Gin and Shoichi acting so strangely?

Is Vermouth seriously injured?

Bourbon moved closer, wanting to get a better look at Vermouth's condition.

"~"

Lying on the bed, Vermouth's lips moved slightly.

Immediately afterwards, she very slowly and gently hooked her right index finger in the direction of Bourbon.

Her movements seemed discreet, but Gin and Shoichi both saw them.

Bourbon's movements suddenly froze.

baffling.

What is this woman doing?
Was it an unconscious act?
“She just... seemed to move a little,” Bourbon said.

However, he was met with two unmoving gazes.

Zheng Yi raised an eyebrow, a playful smile curving his lips.

He winked at Gin, his eyes conveying a sense of "I knew it" and "There was definitely something fishy going on."

"Oh?" Gin said softly, "It moved a little?"

"Bourbon, has your charm become so great that it can bring a dying person back to life for you?"

Bourbon met Gin's gaze, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly.

Why is Gin speaking in such a harsh tone?
He said softly, "Gin, I don't understand what you're talking about."

“I’m just here to visit you in the hospital,” Bourbon said.

Zheng Yi yawned: "Who knows what you're here for?"

Gin looked down at Vermouth on the bed: "Are you going to keep pretending?"

Vermouth started playing dead again, making no sound at all.

"Oh."

Gin still didn't believe Vermouth would listen to Bourbon, and even came out himself to make Bourbon doubt him in order to clear Bourbon's name.

It was just Zheng Yi's words that provided Vermouth with ideas to confuse the issue.

"Then you can continue resting here and see how long you can hold it in," Gin said.

Lying in bed without moving is also very difficult to endure.

Gin looked at Bourbon.

While Vermouth is trying to confuse the issue, Bourbon is still problematic.

Bourbon remained expressionless in the face of Gin's suspicious gaze.

He shouldn't have come.

Having arrived here, I haven't found out anything about the situation; instead, Gin has become even more suspicious of me.

Bourbon glanced at the fruit basket he had bought.

Hmm, he shouldn't have bought that fruit basket either. (End of Chapter)