Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Seeing that Shuichi Akai refused to show himself, and knowing that he would definitely pursue them once they retreated.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate for a time, and the dock was silent.

Chu Ming looked at Judy lying on the ground and suddenly smiled strangely. He turned to Vermouth and whispered a few words. Vermouth stared at him in shock. Seeing that Chu Ming's expression remained firm, she thought for a while and then agreed.

——????)ノ——

The silence lasted only a moment. Chu Ming crouched slightly, still using Akemi's voice, and called out towards the streetlight, "Shuichi...chan~ Since neither of us can do anything to the other, let's call it a day. Your useless teammate's hands and feet are probably crippled, so we don't need him anymore, he's yours~ As for this little boy, I'll take him with me first. Don't try to chase after him, or you'll see this boy's corpse and reports about the FBI's inaction and callous law enforcement on tomorrow's headlines~"

Shuichi Akai hid behind a streetlamp and could vaguely see someone dressed as Akemi Miyano helping Vermouth, and then taking Conan hostage as they got into a car. The person blew him a kiss before driving away.

Shuichi Akai did not give chase. He had rushed over after receiving the news and did not bring any weapons. Moreover, the car had already gone far away, so there was no way to catch up even if he did.

He looked at Judy, who was lying on the ground, blood gushing from her hands and feet, and her eyes, which were already somewhat unfocused due to blood loss. He quickly grabbed a strip of cloth from beside him and came over to bandage Judy.

"Are you OK?"

Jodie's lips were pale, her face ashen, as she allowed Shuichi Akai to take her hand and bandage it, trying to say, "It's nothing, just a minor injury, Shuichi, you—"

She hesitated, as if she wanted to ask something but didn't, instead changing the subject: "They took that child away, Shuichi. Should we notify the Japanese police to assist us in the search?"

"No need, she probably won't do anything to that brat." Shuichi Akai finished bandaging the wound and turned to check on Ai Haibara's condition.

However, the moment he turned around, a gun suddenly appeared out of thin air in Judy's hand. Her expression was crazed, her eyes were excited, and she fired several shots at Shuichi Akai's back.

Shuichi Akai turned around and immediately felt a chill. He subconsciously sensed that something was wrong, and the radar in his mind seemed to be buzzing.

Following his instincts, he rolled to the side in an attempt to dodge, but unfortunately, he was fast, but the bullets were even faster. Several bullets struck his body, splattering blood everywhere.

Shuichi Akai grunted, realizing that something was wrong with Jodie. This disguise was simply impossible to guard against. He cursed under his breath, grabbed Ai Haibara and Ran from the ground, and prepared to hide in another car next to them to escape. However, Chu Ming quickly caught up and shot him in the arm that was holding Ai Haibara.

Good grief, taking Ran away is one thing, but Ai Haibara can't go with you. What if you use your silver tongue to persuade her?

At this moment, Shuichi Akai had already shoved Ran into the car. After taking a bullet, he still tried to pull Ai Haibara away, but she broke free and even took a few steps back, her eyes full of determination.

This is a feud between her and the organization, and it shouldn't involve others. If it were just this scumbag who betrayed his sister, it would be fine, but Xiaolan absolutely cannot die here, absolutely not.

"Take her away, don't worry about me." Ai Haibara suddenly took several steps back. "Quick!"

Seeing Chu Ming closing in, Shuichi Akai gritted his teeth and finally gave up on pulling Ai Haibara back. With his free hand, he picked up Jodie's revolver from the ground, fired a few shots at Chu Ming to delay him, and then stepped on the gas and drove away.

The once bustling dock was instantly reduced to Chu Ming, disguised as Judy, and Ai Haibara, who had willingly chosen to die.

All that's left is the final show before we can call it a day. This time, we've really made a killing, we've made a fortune.

I really hope there will be more red-black battles like this.

Chapter 418 Full Moon - The Waters Are Too Deep

Chu Ming tore open Judy's face, revealing her final expression.

It was his first disguise at the brewery, and also the face that Ai Haibara had seen before—Yusuke Matsutake.

Chu Ming bent down and leaned close to Ai Haibara, speaking softly, "I think I've seen you several times before, but I never imagined you were Sherry, whom the organization has been tracking."

Ai Haibara stood there, her body radiating thorns as she had already disregarded life and death: "Kill me if you want, you talk too much nonsense."

"I won't kill you." Chu Ming straightened up, further solidifying his identity as a member of the Red Team. "I promised Chu Ming that I would let you go this time. I've sent Vermouth away. You can leave now. I won't reveal your identity, and Vermouth probably won't report it either. But if your identity is discovered again and the organization launches another crackdown, I won't let you go."

"Brother Chu Ming?" Ai Haibara's previously calm eyes suddenly flickered with anxiety. Had Brother Chu Ming made some kind of deal? "How is he now? Why did you use his face?"

"Back when we were both on the periphery, he saved me once. I've always been someone who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment. After I was promoted and got a codename, I told him that I owed him something and that he could ask for anything. He had always planned to fake his death and leave the organization, but a couple of days ago he heard from me that Vermouth and I were coming to hunt you down, so he changed his terms. Tsk, all in all, I still came out ahead. After all, letting you go once was much easier to do than helping him leave the organization."

As for using his face, we've worked together for so long and get along quite well; we're practically friends, as you say. I just want to see how that righteous detective will treat Chu Ming if he finds out he's a member of the organization. Maybe it'll bring him to his senses and make him sink into darkness with me. He's a creature of darkness to begin with; what's the point of expecting light? Ridiculous.

"Unfortunately, it seems none of you fell for it, even though I acted so well."

Ai Haibara glared at him intently: "You're using his face to commit crimes, which will get him into trouble! What kind of friend is that!"

"We're not friends—" Chu Ming drawled, sounding rather indifferent. "If we're not friends, we're not friends. Anyway, the organization doesn't need this kind of thing."

Ai Haibara bit her lower lip, feeling a sense of empathy for Chu Ming's choice: "You cold-blooded people simply don't understand. Once you see the light, you never want to go back to the darkness."

"The moment I start to enjoy the darkness, I will no longer look forward to the dawn." Chu Ming chuckled, turned and left, waving his hand at Ai Haibara with his back turned, "Naive little girl, I hope we never meet again."

After showing off, he needed to leave quickly. He had to get to Vermouth's place as soon as possible to see how she was going to flood Conan with information about the Pacific Ocean.

——?(?＞?＜?)——

Vermouth drove around in circles until she reached the dense forest in the suburbs.

She ripped off the Miyano Akemi mask from her face, tossed it aside with a hint of disgust, and looked out the window. Just as they were leaving, Granburg said he would disguise himself as Jodie and give Akai Shuichi a 'girlfriend's backstab 2.0'. She wondered if he had succeeded.

Just as she was starting to worry, her phone suddenly rang—it was her boss calling.

Vermouth took her phone out of her pocket and stared at the phone, which was ringing incessantly without any numbers or contact names displayed. Her gaze was somewhat melancholy as she watched it ring a few times without making any attempt to answer it.

After ringing a few times, the person who made the call seemed to realize something and instead sent a text message.

Vermouth looked at the text message, a mocking smile appearing on her lips. She flicked her finger and replied with an 'OK' text.

She turned to look at Conan, who was fast asleep in the passenger seat. The gloom in her eyes lessened a bit. She reached out and touched Conan's head, unsure of what to do with him. She couldn't just leave him in the forest, could she?

Moreover, it wouldn't be easy to explain to Granburg. He dealt with Sherry at the dock, but when he returned to his identity as Chu Ming and found that Conan was still alive, he would definitely report it to the organization.

But if I remind Conan that Chu Ming is Granbury... No, once I do, there really won't be any way out for these two.

Suddenly, Vermouth's eyes narrowed, she took out a small knife from beside her, grabbed Conan's collar, and carefully cut open Conan's clothes with the blade facing outwards.

"In the dead of night, deep in the mountains and forests, a woman actually used a knife to tear off the clothes of a seven-year-old boy. Is this a sign of moral decay or a distortion of human nature? Tsk tsk, the world is going to the dogs and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be."

Vermouth drove away, taking a winding route that was quite far from here, but since there was no one around, Chu Ming simply took off. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so flying in a straight line would get him there quickly. When he arrived, through the broken car window, he saw Vermouth had already removed Miyano Akemi's face and was now using a dagger to cut open Conan's clothes. He couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

Vermouth had no time to pay attention to Chu Ming. She looked at the electrodes, recording device, and transmitter on Conan's body with a serious expression and reached out to pull them off.

Conan, who had been pretending to be asleep for a while, spoke up to stop her: "I advise you not to do this, because once you pull it out, the signal from my heart will stop, and my companions will be able to find out the recipient's location based on the text message you just sent. At that time, all the information about your boss, such as his name and address, will be found out, even if you kill me."

Conan's eyes were shining brightly, and he was radiating a sense of justice. In this battle between the red and the black, Conan was truly risking his life to gather information.

Even if he is killed by the organization, he must pass on the information.

"What will you choose? My friend is waiting for your answer somewhere around here. But you have a second option: take me to see your boss so we can get to know each other better, Vermouth."

"It's useless." Chu Ming opened the car door on Conan's side and waved a small black box, about the size of a router, in front of Conan. "See? The signal jammer can completely prevent you from sending messages out. Besides, you said your friend is nearby. Don't worry, the organization's main force will be here soon. They'll do a thorough search of the forest, and you'll be reunited soon. Or—"

Chu Ming gave a wicked smile and directly ripped the power cord off Conan: "Or we could threaten your safety to force your friend to come out, do you think he would?"

!!!

Conan's confident expression finally cracked.

Seeing the incredibly interesting expression on Conan's face, Chu Ming was satisfied. He revealed the ether spray in his hand and sprayed it on Conan's face, putting him to sleep again.

Little detective, the organization is a deep and complex place, and you can't handle it. You'd better keep a low profile and behave yourself!

Chapter 419 Vermouth

Chu Ming stared at Conan's sleeping face, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

While Vermouth's mind raced, trying to save Conan from Chu Ming's grasp, she changed the subject: "How's the situation on your end? Are Shuichi Akai and Sherry dead? And that little girl named Ran Mouri, she should know nothing. You promised me before that you wouldn't hurt her unless it endangered the organization. How is she now?"

"That's good. Neither of them died. I shot Shuichi Akai three times, and he might even have been seriously injured, yet he still managed to escape with two people. Tsk, that's impressive." Chu Ming said half-jokingly, but he was genuinely impressed by Shuichi Akai's strength.

Of the three shots he fired, only the last one was dodged; the other two hit him in the back, and one bullet even grazed his spine. If Shuichi Akai's reaction had been any slower, he would have been paralyzed for the rest of his life.

“Sweetheart, can we—not kill this boy?” Vermouth observed Chu Ming’s expression and finally decided to be direct. “Your sister cares about him quite a bit, so feel free to ask.”

"Sherry turned into a little girl, so he must be Shinichi Kudo, right?" Chu Ming's expression was indifferent, revealing nothing. "Because he and Ran Mouri saved you in America, and you've been helping them ever since?"

Vermouth knew that as long as Chu Ming appeared here, it was only a matter of time before he learned the truth, so she no longer hid it: "More or less."

"Is one life for one life enough?" Chu Ming's eyes were fixed on Vermouth. "Or do you have other plans?"

Vermouth remained silent.

Chu Ming looked at him, his face indifferent, and his voice even more so: "Vermouth, you're not going to be like the villains in novels, resorting to some cliché trope of being trapped in the mud for so long, finally seeing a ray of light? You were saved, and now you're ready to offer your heart to someone else?"

Vermouth's lips twitched slightly when she heard the description; it did seem a bit cliché...

"Don't forget who you are, Vermouth." Chu Ming's tone was not fierce at all, but rather unhurried, yet it carried a strange pressure. "He did save you, that's true, but he saved you to send you to prison. Don't go and end up in prison yourself to repay a favor, or I'll laugh at you for the rest of my life."

Vermouth looked at Conan's profile and knew that Chu Ming was using a joke to warn her. She sighed silently, looked at Chu Ming's unusually serious eyes, and nodded: "I know my limits."

You know nothing.

Chu Mingcai didn't believe it, but he wouldn't push Vermouth any further to make a statement.

After all, Conan can't die yet.

Over time, Chu Ming has come to understand the true nature of this world. It is a world centered around Conan. He wants to solve cases, so there will be cases wherever he goes; he wants clues about the organization, so many of the cases he experiences are intricately connected to the organization; he wants to solve cases by hiding behind Kogoro Mouri, so no matter how blatantly he stands, no one will notice him.

Therefore, Conan absolutely cannot die now. If he dies, this world will probably be ruined. He is only carrying a subsystem now, unlike the powerful system that brought him here in the first place. If the world is really ruined, there will be no way to take him away.

As long as the world doesn't collapse, he can live to the end of time. But once the world collapses, and the system can't take him away, no amount of points can save him.

Therefore, he will not touch Conan until the main storyline ends.

After all, without him as a butterfly, the organization, a group with negative luck, would have been completely unable to do anything to Conan.

“This time, sister let him off the hook, consider it repaying his life. But next time you see him, you can’t be soft-hearted, okay?” Chu Ming resumed his previous cheerful demeanor, his tone softening considerably. “This time, I won’t report it, including Sherry. And I won’t give anything away when I see them. However, sister, let me make this clear: next time they run into the organization, I won’t show any mercy.”

Vermouth nodded, concealing the complex emotions in her eyes: "The BOSS summoned me back. This time, I probably won't be able to come out for quite a while. So, Sweetheart, could you help me take care of this child and Xiaolan?"

???

This is a textbook example of what it means to strike while the iron is hot.

"Sure, but as I said before, my appearance fee is very high." Chu Ming blinked. "However, if the person you're talking to is you, you only need to answer one question~"