In the Marvel Universe: I can summon items from all dimensions.

Chapter 72 Are you stupid? I have a resurrection armor!

Before he could hear what the Mori father and daughter were saying, Conan rushed out the door and used the GPS on his glasses to confirm the direction of the transmitter.

Why did it stop moving not far away?

If I remember correctly, that should be a dark alley?

Why? Has that person already discovered the transmitter?

Conan had a bad feeling, but how could the righteous detective stand idly by when his companion was in such a predicament?

Therefore, despite knowing the extreme risks, he still rushed out without hesitation.

"Haibara—please, please don't let anything happen to you—"

He sped forward on his skateboard, but instead of turning directly into the dark alley, he took a detour and cautiously peered in through another entrance.

After making a few quiet turns in the alley, he heard a low voice talking.

"Alright, Ms. Miyano, please take those things off your shoes and throw them away."

Mason crossed his arms and said with interest, "A transmitter? A bug? Whatever. A famous detective is indeed a famous detective; we can't be careless."

How could he not know how skilled Conan was at these little tricks? So from the very first second he entered the agency, his attention never left Conan, and naturally he noticed him secretly playing with the rubber band.

'

Shiho Miyano pursed her lips unwillingly, but since she had already been discovered, she had no choice but to do as she was told. So she lifted her leg, took off the transmitter from the heel of her shoe, threw it aside, and then sneered, "Are you satisfied now?"

'

"Hmm, not bad." Mason nodded, then took out a pistol from his briefcase, smiled and raised his voice, "Since you've already installed the transmitter, there's no reason not to follow—Shinichi Kudo, why hide? Step forward and speak."

He certainly didn't know if Conan had followed, but since it didn't cost him anything to ask for a tip, he figured he might as well say it.

Then, faint footsteps came from one end of the dark alley.

Conan slowly walked out, aimed the sights of the tranquilizer dart at Mason, and said with a grim face, "Who exactly are you?"

"Just a villain who happened to be passing by."

Mason shrugged, then pressed the gun against Shiho Miyano's waist—the latter stiffened abruptly, but unlike before, she didn't stutter in fright. Instead, she looked at Conan with sorrowful eyes and said, "Kudo—"

Why did you chase after us?

"What are you talking about, Haibara? How can I abandon my comrades?" Conan stared intently at Mason. "Are you a member of the Black Organization? What are you planning to do?"

"Hmm—I can explain, but you'll have to put that dangerous watch away first."

Mason patted Shiho Miyano on the shoulder: "That size shouldn't fit a bullet—hmm, a tranquilizer dart or a poison dart? But whatever it is, in this situation, even if you hit me, I have time to make Ms. Miyano bleed to death within minutes."

"Don't listen to him! Don't worry about me!" Shiho Miyano growled, somewhat losing her composure. "Kudo! Stop dreaming about everyone being saved, even if it's just you—run away!"

"————"

Conan gave the two of them a deep look, then put away his watch and raised his hand: "Satisfied now?"

"That's more like it."

Mason nodded, then took two steps back and took out his phone.

Very good, all the prerequisites have been met. Now it's time to see my amazing wisdom!

He smiled slightly, opened his camera, and swiftly snapped a photo of Shiho Miyano and Conan together. Then, in a few quick movements, he accessed his contact list and sent the photo to a woman named Vermouth, who wished to remain anonymous.

Conan exclaimed in shock, "What did you do?!?!"

"Shut up, you'll get to speak later."

Mason, with a briefcase slung over his arm and a gun in one hand, and a phone in the other, whistled and dialed Vermouth's number.

After ringing three times, the call was answered.

"Guess what I found, Vermouth?" he said cheerfully. "I caught Sherry while on vacation, and Shinichi Kudo, who was previously silenced by Gin—surprised? I'll tell Gin and the boss right now, and I can also help you get credit for it."

Conan and Shiho Miyano's hearts sank instantly.

Unlike the latter, the former, while being severely frightened, also had a vague thought rising in his mind—Vermouth? Was he contacting Vermouth?

So, does that mean there's still some room for maneuver?

"?!!!!!"

Mason vaguely heard the sound of a chair overturning.

"What happened?" Vermouth asked urgently, her voice unusually distraught. "How could you—?"

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Mason laughed. "We caught the traitor and found a valuable experimental subject—who knew APTX-4869 could shrink people? If we can thoroughly study this phenomenon, the organization will probably sweep up all the Nobel Prizes in biology for the next century, right? With such a great achievement, I'm sure I'll get a promotion and a raise soon, and be on par with Gin and the like, right?"

Vermouth on the other end of the phone almost couldn't catch her breath.

Why are you meddling in Shinichi Kudo's business? I've known that for centuries!

Enraged, Vermouth struggled to suppress her emotions and then said in a relaxed tone, "Well, congratulations then, Koniek—is anyone else aware of this?"

No, I'm alone right now.

Mason deliberately said, "Although I want to tell Gin, judging from his personality, he'll probably kill me and these two as well to cover up his mistake—well, Sherry might be taken back for questioning."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Vermouth smiled and replied, "So what do you mean?"

"This matter involves many layers, not just a traitor issue—this great detective is quite capable, you know, he even has connections to the FBI. I'm afraid I can't handle this alone, so I'm planning to consult with you," Mason said. "So, this is the question I should ask—do you have any leads?"

"Is that so?" Vermouth said calmly. "That makes sense. So be it then—take those two precious prisoners to the nearest safe house and keep them there. I'll head over there immediately—well, if all goes as expected, I should be there by tomorrow morning. We can discuss the details then."

"No problem, I'll wait for you."

"There's one more thing—" Vermouth added casually, "Those two might have some important secrets. Don't kill them before I get there."

"Ha, I know how to do this, you don't need to remind me."

Mason smiled and then hung up the phone.

See? That's why we say Vermouth is Conan's expensive godmother. She went through all sorts of roundabout ways just to make sure her godson was safe. Some biological mothers might not even be this good to their own children.

"Konek" wouldn't know, but Mason understood that given Vermouth's strange attitude towards Conan, her saying she would come over tomorrow morning was probably not to take this death god elementary school student back to the organization, but rather to shoot herself to prevent her godson's secret from being exposed.

Now the show's entertainment value is achieved, isn't it?

Mason put away his phone, looked down at Conan and Shiho Miyano, and said, "Do you know what's going on now?"

""

"What's wrong with you?!"

At this point, Conan, with his keen detective intuition, sensed something strange: "Are you really a member of the Black Organization?"

"Hmm?" Mason raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting claim. What's the basis for it?"

"Feel."

Conan frowned and said, "Your actions are strange. If it were the Black Organization coming to take me and Ai Haibara away, there wouldn't be so many complications. We might have been shot dead in our dreams."

That makes sense.

Mason clapped his hands and said, "But is it possible that I'm actually a psychopath, planning to toy with you like a cat playing with mice before making my move? Anyway, I already have information on your entire social circle, so even if the FBI sends people to protect you around the clock, it won't help."

"If that's the case, then I'm out of options."

Conan's expression remained unchanged: "But that's unlikely, because you contacted Vermouth. If you really knew everything, it shouldn't be difficult to deduce what Vermouth did in Japan before."

"Hmm, it seems that this is indeed a problem. I originally thought that Vermouth's name could be used to scare people."

"

Mason shrugged and said, "Interesting. It's really hard to understand why that viper-like woman would care so much about a young man. Is it because of your mother?"

"So, who exactly are you? And what do you want?"

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Conan's forehead, but he still managed to keep his tone from wavering.

The incident happened so suddenly that he only had time to make this much reasoning, and there was no supporting evidence. It was all no different from gambling. If he lost, it would all be over.

"I am Cecil Lee Mason, codename Konek—and that's no lie."

Mason said slowly, "As for the purpose—wasn't it clear enough what I said at the office just now?"

"Itakura Suguru's code?" Conan frowned. "You want the program he developed for the organization?"

"Correct." Mason snapped his fingers in agreement. "You may not realize the gravity of the situation. As he wrote in his diary, that software could pose a threat to all of humanity." No metaphor, just the literal meaning.

In reality, he didn't know the seriousness of the problem; he was just making up an excuse for his rebellion.

Anyway, he just wants to pin the blame on the brewery. His goal is simply to use the Red Team's influence to investigate and eliminate the mission target. Using the Red Team's name and banner is a common and effective tactic. Even if he exaggerates the brewery's ambition to destroy the world, they are unlikely to come out and clarify, right?

"Potential threat to all of humanity?"

Conan was bewildered by this: "What do you mean?"

"Hmm... let's put it this way." Mason said, rummaging through his briefcase. "Ms. Miyano, as a biologist and pharmacologist, please answer a question for me."

"—What?"

The subtle shift in the situation caught Shiho Miyano off guard, causing her to be a beat slow in responding.

"From a technical standpoint, is it easier to create a creature that is immune to bullets, or to make a person age in reverse?" Mason asked meaningfully.

For no apparent reason, Shiho Miyano shivered, and after a moment she said hesitantly, "Of course—"

--former."

"That's the problem, my friends."

Mason pulled a magazine from his briefcase and quickly loaded it into the gun in his hand. The empty magazine that came out left Shiho Miyano completely puzzled.

What's going on?

But Mason didn't give them time to react. He deftly loaded the bullet, disengaged the safety, and fired two shots into his own chest.

"!" Conan exclaimed in shock, rushing forward immediately. "What are you doing?!"

"What? Did you think I was going to die?"

Mason stumbled a couple of times before regaining his balance. Then, he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the bullet hole in his chest to the two men.

If you ask if it hurts, it definitely does. The reason I stumbled a couple of steps was simply to use that movement to mask physiological reactions like muscle spasms.

But if you've put on a show, you have to finish it, even if you're crying.

"?!!!!!!!!!!!"

If she was only emotionally shocked before, then seeing someone standing there unharmed after being shot twice in the chest was a real challenge to Shiho Miyano's years of accumulated knowledge.

She stared at Mason's chest, speechless, and after a moment she even reached out and touched it, only to find that her fingertip had actually poked a real hole.

—It's not a hallucination!!!

After staggering back a few steps with an expression that suggested her worldview had been completely shattered, Mason, while buttoning his shirt, looked at Conan again and asked, "How about it? Do you realize how serious the situation is?"

To make the scene seem a little less outrageous, Mason deliberately refrained from immediately mobilizing light energy to heal the wounds—although that was still quite frightening.

"No—this—????"

Conan was dumbfounded.

No, buddy?

Weren't we supposed to be acting in a detective, police, or action movie? Why has it suddenly turned into a fantasy film? Does this make sense?

While the idea of ​​a foot-powered aerosol kicking a satellite off its trajectory might seem even more unscientific, it's still within the realm of action movie explanations. However, being shot and surviving is a completely different matter—at least that's how people in this world perceive it.

"Don't look at me like that. I think your problems are much more serious than mine."

Mason shrugged and said, "Can't a biologist and a great detective imagine what would happen if the phenomenon of 'reverse aging' could be stably controlled?"

Conan's expression changed once again.

Of course he could think of it, but in the past, even if he could, it wouldn't have made much sense, since he himself was barely able to take care of himself, so where would he get the energy to get involved in such a grand topic as a social phenomenon?

But if someone brings it up directly, then it has to be addressed.

"The emergence of a new class could trigger social unrest, or even a new world war."

Before he could answer, Mason said, "You see, even though I'm an assassin, I have no interest in living in a chaotic world. If the organization really creates the kind of thing I'm talking about, immortality will most likely be out of my reach, but I'll definitely be forced to work like a slave—what do you think I should choose, Great Detective?"

"That makes so much sense, I'm speechless."

Conan's lips twitched twice: "So, you actually are...?"

"Ah, don't misunderstand."

Mason shook his head and said, "I'm hardly a friendly person. Although the organization's future is dangerous, I've been in there for so many years, I can't just quit like that. Do you remember the game I told you about, Miss Miyano?"

At this point, Shiho Miyano naturally understood what was going on, so she stood up, rubbing her temples vigorously, and said, "Don't tell me that what you said before was all—"

"It can be fake, or it can be real."

Mason chuckled: "So, you're betting on both sides to avoid leaving any loopholes. If you're not as capable as I imagine, then I'll pretend I never intended to betray you, and obediently follow the procedure to kill you all and bring you back to claim credit. But conversely—"

He paused for a moment, then slowly said, "The game—or rather, the test—is this: if you can hand over Itakura Taku's software to me within the next week, I will cooperate with you and share everything I've investigated over the years—including the boss's identity. But if you can't do it—then don't blame me for being ruthless."

Conan: "————"

Shiho Miyano:

'

"How can we trust you?" Conan asked tentatively.

"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not."

Mason turned and walked out of the alley: "Now, let's go and meet Vermouth first."