Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Under the tense gazes of everyone, his hand drew closer and closer to the bottle opening. Just as he was about to tear off the seal, everyone's hearts leaped into their throats, and several waiters covered their faces, unable to hold back their silent sobs.

Just at this critical moment, a hand snatched the ampoule from Chu Ming's hand. Vermouth, holding the bottle, looked at Chu Ming, who was trying to scare him, and said helplessly, "Your perverse sense of humor is really something else. Don't you know what time it is? Is this the time for you to scare people?"

"Anyway, we're going to test the drug, so it doesn't matter who does it?" Chu Ming snatched the bottle again, looking at the virus inside, which was now bubbling even more vigorously after the struggle, and muttered in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the Red Team to hear.

Conan's heart skipped a beat. A drug test?

Who will try?

What medication should we try?

When he came in, he realized that the group of people who had been tied up in the corner were the same armed robbers he and the children had seen in the airship.

This group of people should be red Siamese cats.

But the red Siamese cat is tied up here... And who are these scarred-faced guys?!

Conan felt his mind was a bit confused, but no matter how confused he was, his expression changed when he heard that the group planned to use the people on the airship to test the drug.

He had previously seen analysis reports on television, which indicated that the virus was highly contagious and that if it were to leak out, the entire country of Japan would be overrun.

Watching the robbers chatting, Conan slowly groped behind his back, trying to untie the rope binding his hands.

When Conan started to wriggle, Chu Ming had already been watching him out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that he was starting to get restless, he quietly nudged Vodka.

Vodka jolted awake, instantly remembering the strange scene Chu Ming had given him earlier: to say something to a bespectacled kid the moment he received a hint from Chu Ming.

Although he didn't know Chu Ming's intentions, Vodka felt that the reason he had been able to stay comfortably in the organization until today was because he was obedient and didn't cause trouble.

He does whatever his older brother says, without needing to think for himself at all.

As for why his elder brother made him do this?

This is not something he should care about.

The same logic can be applied to Chu Ming, who is now also his boss.

So the instant he received the hint, Vodka slowly moved closer to Conan, pinched his cheek, frowned slightly, and asked with a hint of doubt, "This kid looks kind of familiar?"

Conan was struck dumb, staring blankly at the person in front of him. The moment Vodka spoke, he recognized Vodka's voice.

These are all members of the organization!

But it was precisely because he recognized the identities of these people that he became even more terrified.

Vodka saw his face!

It even looks very familiar!

If he discovers his identity, wouldn't that be the same as the organization discovering his whereabouts?

In an instant, countless imagined scenarios flashed through his mind, and he froze on the spot.

Chu Ming looked at Conan, who had quieted down, and then at his steadily increasing points. Satisfied, he weighed the bottle in his hand and turned to Vodka, who was still diligently watching Conan, and said, "What are you doing squatting there? Have you found a suitable test subject yet?"

Vodka withdrew his gaze and stood up: "While you were patrolling the airship just now, we found a test subject. He's not very old and should meet the requirements."

Chu Ming tapped Conan with his chin: "This virus spreads most effectively in children. How old was that test subject before? Was he qualified? How effective was the drug?"

"I don't know his exact age, but he looks quite young, probably underage. I've already sprayed him with the virus, and he passed out in no time. I locked him in that room over there." Vodka delivered his lines honestly, feeling incredibly frustrated.

Why should everyone just dump their lines on him?

Just because he's an easy target?

Won't this cause any leaks?

Jiajia felt wronged, but she had nowhere to confide in.

"Take that brat with you too. Once the virus takes effect, throw him right off the airship. What are the employer's requirements?"

“The employers hope that after Tokyo and Osaka are completely ravaged by the virus, they will send people to Japan in the guise of saviors, and then station them there, so that they can interfere in Japan’s economic and political power,” Vermouth replied lazily.

“Okay, the employer didn’t give us enough virus to spray all over Japan. So, we’ll start with the children and spray them with the virus. Once everyone on the airship is infected, we’ll drop one person off every now and then. Those idiots in the Japanese police can’t stop us.”

This was Chu Ming's idea. They disguised themselves as international mercenaries hired by the FBI and then shifted all the blame onto the FBI.

Currently, there are police officers, members of the Suzuki Group (Japan's number one economic power), and a famous detective on this airship. They can all testify that this was the work of the FBI.

It's like putting a huge, unshakeable accusation on the FBI's head.

At the same time, it will let Conan and Ai Haibara know who the real mastermind is, making it easier for Conan's parents to contact the FBI.

Furthermore, since Vodka has most likely discovered Conan's identity, even if Conan himself wants to intervene in the second battle between the organization and the FBI, Ai Haibara and Dr. Agasa will no longer allow him to do so.

It's a win-win situation: it can both successfully lure out the FBI and prevent Conan from taking reckless risks.

Of course, this virus is not real, but a fake one. It is highly contagious and can cause people to develop bumps all over their bodies, but it is not fatal at all. It will be automatically expelled from the body within a week. It was a virus that Chu Ming carefully selected from Potter's group of medicines.

It's certainly enough to scare people. If the authorities can't find an antidote in a short time, they can also use this as an opportunity to promote the research institute to the outside world.

Kill two birds with one stone!

Chapter 544 Chu Ming in a Coma

"Are you even human? Using children as test subjects?" Officer Nakamori shouted angrily upon hearing Chu Ming's words.

"Why not?" Chu Ming said in a flippant and casual tone, glancing at Officer Nakamori. "Is this officer so angry because he's jealous of not being selected? Are you trying to provoke me into choosing you? Heh, fine, I won't choose you, I'll make you angry."

Inspector Nakamori was so enraged by Chu Ming's obsequious words that his face turned pale. He clenched his fists tightly and looked at Gin: "Judging from your tone, you're mercenaries, aren't you? Which organization are you employed by? Our Japanese authorities can offer double the amount, we hope you—"

Gin's indifferent gaze swept lightly over Inspector Nakamori without him saying a word.

Chu Ming, acting as the mouthpiece, said, "You, a mere policeman, dare to represent the authorities and make demands? The people we're dealing with are your masters, don't you think—"

"Ahem—" Vermouth coughed lightly at the right moment, stopping Chu Ming from continuing, as if to say that the information could not be leaked.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. Retreat is out of the question. Since you know we're mercenaries, you should know the rules of our trade. We can't betray our employers, otherwise how could we survive in this business?"

Inspector Nakamori's face was grim. Suddenly, Jirokichi Suzuki, who was standing next to him, spoke up: "You guys live on the edge, risking your lives, all for money. How much will each of you get for this job? Ten million US dollars at most, right? Here's what we'll do: you can back off now, and I can write you checks for ten million US dollars each right away."

"..."

Chu Ming shamefully fell for him.

He cast a hesitant glance at Gin, silently asking a question.

Ten million per person, in US dollars, easily made the organization a huge sum of money. Should we continue this wave?

Seeing that everyone's attention had turned to Gin, Jirokichi Suzuki knew who was in charge, and he continued to raise the stakes.

"This must be the leader of this mercenary group, right? This 'Lady in the Sky' exhibit is worth hundreds of millions. I can give it to you as a gift. How about that? Does that show my sincerity?"

Gin remained unmoved. He glanced around before fixing his gaze on Chu Ming, his voice hoarse yet undeniably authoritative: "Remember your mission, and don't do anything unnecessary."

Gin certainly wanted the sixty million US dollars, but he knew that the money wasn't so easy to get. After all, why had never any robbers tried to extort the Suzuki Group, Japan's number one conglomerate?

It's obviously because they had the life to take it, but not the life to spend it.

Although the organization is not afraid of these things, the boss's philosophy is to keep a low profile. This kind of money can be obtained at any time, but once you get involved in trouble, it is not easy to get rid of it.

Seeing that Gin was too rational and difficult to bribe with money, Jirokichi Suzuki stopped talking and looked in Sonoko's direction with a worried gaze.

He's so old, it's one thing if something really happens to him, but Sonoko is the heir to the Suzuki Group in this generation. What if she really dies on the airship? How can he face his older brother?

Just as Suzuki Jirokichi was thinking about how to redeem Sonoko, Vodka grabbed Conan.

"Conan!" Ran tried to rush forward to save Conan. Even though Chu Ming fired a shot at her feet, she ignored it and kept running forward until she hugged Conan tightly. "He's still young, take me with you!"

"Tsk, so many people like to die?" Chu Ming played with the gun in his hand, looking at Ran who was holding Conan tightly, with a half-smile. "Fine, if you want to die together, that's easy. Anyway, we all have to test the drug, so I'll be the good guy."

He turned and beckoned to Vodka: "Come on, take both of them over there, let them try the drug together, lock them up with the person you just tried the drug with."

"Ran—" Seeing that Ran was about to be taken away, Kogoro Mouri stood up anxiously and wanted to rush over as well.

Are you guys trying to save your grandpa like the Calabash Brothers?

Chu Ming remained silent, then turned and fired several shots. A few bullets grazed Kogoro Mouri's arm, and a few drops of blood splattered and dripped onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Cohen and Chianti, who had been relegated to the background, also raised their guns, their expressions full of threat.

"Dad!" Ran, who was holding Conan, was so anxious to rush over when she saw that Kogoro Mouri was injured that she tried to do the same thing again, but Vermouth stopped her with a gun.

After all, Chu Ming didn't seem to be in a good mood right now, and if Xiao Lan rushed over and got hurt herself, she would be heartbroken.

"What gave you the illusion that I have a good temper? If you keep yelling like this, don't wait until the virus takes hold, or I'll send you on your way right now." His menacing words immediately intimidated some of the people.

On this airship, apart from the main characters, everyone else was a member of the Red Siamese Cat's group who had infiltrated the group. They were not good people to begin with, and when they saw that Chu Ming and his group were testing the virus on children, which was temporarily unrelated to them, they all obediently shrank back in place without saying a word.

Seeing Professor Agasa and the others hurriedly pulling Kogoro Mori back, Chu Ming pointed his gun at Professor Agasa: "Get that brat hiding behind you out here."

Dr. Agasa was startled. Staring at the dark muzzle of the gun, he said with difficulty, "This little girl has never been very healthy since she was a child, she—"

"boom--"

Professor Agasa took two steps back, looking at the charred bullet holes at his feet, but still firmly protected Ai Haibara.

Ai Haibara, however, broke free from Professor Agasa's hand: "It's alright, Professor. Don't worry about me. I can look after the children if I stay with them."

After saying that, he lowered his head and walked over to stand next to Xiaolan.

Her gaze lingered on Chu Ming, unsure if it was really him.

After all, the series of actions she had just witnessed made her increasingly convinced that this man might be Granbury...

Under the threat of guns, the remaining people could only watch anxiously and worriedly as Xiao Lan and the other children were taken away by Chu Ming and Vodka.

Chu Ming put on a gas mask and tossed one to Vodka.