Conan, I'm an actor

“These are FBI agents who have arrived in Japan to exchange intelligence with the Japanese Public Security Bureau, led by Intelligence Officer James,” Vermouth said with a half-smile. “That man named Shuichi Akai is not among them.”

Vodka and Gin almost simultaneously focused their attention on Shinjo. The plan to lure and kill Shuichi Akai using Akemi Miyano as bait was orchestrated by Cognac. Now that Shuichi Akai hasn't come, he should provide an explanation.

"Don't leave things unsaid," Shinjo said, swirling the ice in his glass. "Miyano Akemi is not only Akai Shuichi's girlfriend, but also his cousin. His mother, Akai Mary, is Miyano Elena's older sister."

The people present were all stunned. Why hadn't Cognac mentioned this information before?

Gin's lips curled into a sinister smile as he looked at Vermouth. "Is this news true?"

However, seeing the surprised expression on Vermouth's face, he knew that Vermouth didn't know about this either.

“To lay a hand on his own cousin, that’s just…” Bourbon’s expression was a bit strange. “This guy is really despicable.”

“It’s definitely worthless,” Shinjo chimed in.

After the initial shock, Vermouth pressed a button on the remote control, and the projector showed a scene of Shuichi Akai entering the airport.

“Shuichi Akai was on a long vacation recently, and his destination was Frankfurt, but he disappeared the day after he arrived in Frankfurt,” Vermouth said. “And just a day earlier, FBI intelligence officer James was questioned from home, seemingly about the use of weapons. In addition, a military plane took off urgently yesterday, carrying CIA officials, and its destination was Japan.”

When Shinjo heard the word "CIA," he glanced at Rena Mizunashi, only to find that she was looking at him right away. Their eyes met briefly in mid-air before quickly looking away, as if nothing had happened.

Vermouth, having finished speaking, returned control of the meeting to Gin.

“I was sniped, and it must have been him. He’s in Japan right now.” Gin’s eyes were fixed on his glass. “Since this rat dared to come to our base, we have to find a way to kill him completely.”

Although it was just speculation, Gin's confident attitude made it sound like he was stating a fact.

At that moment, Calvados, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "We are at a complete disadvantage in terms of equipment, and it will be difficult to kill him silently. Right now, we don't even know where he is."

Although he didn't refuse Gin's request, anyone could sense the resistance in his words.

Cohen and Chianti remained silent, but their attitude clearly indicated they were on Calvados's side. The three snipers had always acted in unison, and this time was no exception.

Not only are they outmatched technically, but they are also at a significant disadvantage in terms of equipment. Forcing a confrontation would only result in them being targeted by the enemy.

Of course, they had their reasons for daring to refuse Gin at this moment; training snipers is very expensive. Unless Gin is completely out of his mind, he wouldn't treat them like ordinary soldiers, nor would he simply eliminate them out of anger.

“You don’t need to participate in this mission.” Gin stared at the cognac beside him. “You will be in charge of the assassination. There shouldn’t be any problems, right? To ensure the smooth execution of the assassination, you can choose a few people to assist you.”

"Assist me?" A sharp smile appeared on Shinjo's lips. "I'm really sorry, I'm afraid of accidentally hurting someone."

As he spoke, he placed a gun on the table, and everyone present paled upon seeing it.

It was a shotgun, and if it were just a shotgun, that would be fine. But the problem was that the barrel of this shotgun was only a very short section, less than 10 centimeters long, and even the bullet tip was sticking out.

The shorter the barrel of a shotgun, the greater the bullet dispersion. No matter which direction the gun is fired, people in that direction will fall.

Gin's eyelids twitched when he saw the shotgun Shinjo pulled out. Couldn't this guy use a normal weapon? It's always these weird and strange weapons that are impossible to deal with.

Seeing Gin's expression, Chianti couldn't help but want to laugh, but in the end she held back. Even if she were crazy, she wouldn't provoke Gin at this moment.

"Don't look at me like that. I think some of you here have already experienced how skilled that guy is." Shinjo looked at Vermouth with a half-smile. "I don't want to fail in my assassination attempt and become a laughing stock."

"Okay." Gin finally managed to say this after a long pause, then took out a box from behind him. "But you have to wear this."

As the box was opened, a neck strap was revealed, with a camera, several small cubes, and a transmitter attached to it. After scanning the area with his prosthetic eye, Shinjo knew that the small cubes contained explosives that could be detonated remotely.

“Wearing this is fine, but the explosives on it need to be removed,” Shinjo said with a smile.

This thing is no joke when it explodes; even if it doesn't kill him, it will blow him to pieces.

He could use Karen to block the transmitter's detonation signal, but then he wouldn't be able to explain how he survived.

Moreover, doing so would mean a complete break with the organization, and Cognac and Tetsuo Niijō would be hunted down by them. These identities were still useful, and he couldn't just abandon them. Therefore, he decided to defy Gin this once. "Okay, take down the explosives."

The atmosphere in the bar instantly turned cold. The three members of the sniper team stood up from their seats and walked to a table at the edge before stopping, with an attitude of "You guys shoot, just don't get any blood on me."

Pisco and Irishman watched Gin with amusement as he attached explosives to his neck strap; Gin clearly intended to kill Cognac.

If the assassination of Shuichi Akai and Akemi Miyano goes wrong, Gin will have an excuse to detonate the explosives and eliminate Cognac, this unstable factor.

Chapter 105 Medicine Acquisition and House Arrest

However, Gin probably didn't expect that the explosives he planted would be recognized by Cognac at a glance, and that Cognac would point it out at the meeting.

Now that they've formed an alliance, Pisco won't stand idly by and watch Cognac be destroyed by Gin. He's decided that unless Gin has a suitable reason, he and Irish liquor will stand firmly in support of Cognac.

At the very least, he couldn't let Gin kill him here. Everyone knew that Cognac was his ally, and if he let Cognac be killed by Gin, Pisco's prestige within the organization would decline further.

Besides, this guy faked his death once, fooling everyone in the organization. He himself needs this expert's assistance to retire.

Bourbon, meanwhile, was drinking silently with his head down. He had previously discussed rescuing Miyano Akemi with Shinjo, but Shinjo had remained tight-lipped, clearly having his own ideas. His current task was to act according to Shinjo's instructions; any actions outside the plan would only lead to its failure.

Also drinking alone was Gee, a CIA agent who desperately wanted to save her colleague. However, the numerous photos she had just seen made her hesitant to act rashly.

Vermouth's ability to take so many photos suggests she has an undercover agent within the FBI, or somewhere close to them. If she were to tip off the FBI now, she would likely be walking into a trap, failing to save Shuichi Akai and instead getting herself implicated.

The atmosphere inside was somewhat awkward, and Gin's expression was also very unpleasant; Cognac's resistance made him unable to control his temper.

Today's meeting was attended by members of the Tokyo region's upper echelons. As the head of the Tokyo region, his decisions should be absolute. However, this guy disrespected him at such an important meeting, making him feel that his authority had been challenged.

“You should know the organization’s punishment for mission failure,” Vodka said, staring at the cognac. “You should be very clear about the consequences of mission failure.”

"Oh, you mean if the mission fails, you'll die?" Shinjo asked with a smile.

"Could it be..."

"Vodka, defuse the bomb." Gin glanced at Vermouth, then at Bourbon, snorted, and said nothing more.

Of those present at the failed assassination attempt on Shuichi Akai, one was Vermouth. Cognac was one of her people, and planting a bomb in her collar was already a provocation. If Vodka had said the mission would end in death, it would have been tantamount to completely offending Vermouth, his ally.

Furthermore, the matter of Shinichi Kudo is still unresolved, and the detective he killed has suddenly come back to life and appeared in the boss's former villa—this is a serious oversight. Who knows if Vermouth told him about this? If Vodka says the mission will fail and Cognac brings this up openly, how will he face the consequences?

Seeing Gin easily back down, Vodka's face was full of astonishment. When did his boss become so easy to talk to?

The other members of the organization were also stunned. Had Gin taken the wrong medicine today? Given his personality, shouldn't he be threatening with a gun or using his power to intimidate others? Why was he backing down?

Vermouth looked at Shinjo with a hint of amusement. She knew the inside story, so she wasn't surprised by Gin's decision at all. She just didn't know how Cognac was going to save the two people.

Real-time surveillance video is very difficult to fake, which is why Gin agreed to let Cognac remove the bomb; he wasn't afraid that Cognac would try anything funny.

Pisco, on the other side, also breathed a sigh of relief. However, he also gained a deeper understanding of his colleague and decided that he should inform him in advance of any future meetings like this to avoid being scared to death.

“I’ll take Miyano Akemi.” Shinjo took the chokehold that had defused the bomb and added, “And give me an APTX-4869 pill too.”

Gin, upon hearing his words, could no longer hold back. "What do you want to do?"

"It would be quite interesting to die from a drug developed by your own sister," Shinjo said with a smile. "Just give me the drug, and don't worry about the rest."

A dozen minutes later

Shin-cheng looked at the box on the passenger seat and a slight smile appeared on his face.

Forging live video might be difficult for others, but for Kallen, it was a piece of cake. By sending fake CG video back to Gin's monitors instead of the real video, she could create the illusion that the two of them were dead.

However, the location of the assassination needs to be carefully chosen, and the follow-up work will require the cooperation of Amuro Tooru's public security forces.

Meanwhile, inside the Mori Detective Agency

"Dad, Conan is just a child. How could you hit him so hard?" Ran said with some dissatisfaction as she applied an ice pack to the swollen bump on Conan's head.

"Hmph, this brat needs to be taught a lesson. First he went to the crime scene to obstruct the police investigation, and now he's going to someone else's detective agency to ruin their business." Kogoro Mouri looked at the ice pack on Conan's head, his tone softening slightly, and said resentfully, "He's a real handful."

"Conan! What are you doing at Ms. Koshimizu's detective agency?" Ran looked at Conan and asked with a serious expression. "Don't lie, don't hide anything."

"I'm going to find Uncle Shinjo." Conan scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Shinichi said he entrusted some things to Uncle Shinjo for safekeeping and asked me to pick them up when I had time. That's all. But Uncle Shinjo hasn't been around for the past few days, so I've been going there to look for him."

Faced with Ran Mouri's questioning and Kogoro Mouri's probing gaze, Conan could only ask his future self to take the blame. After all, Ran and Kogoro Mouri were unlikely to question Shinichi, and even if they did, he could easily cover up his own lie.

"Shinichi is really something, always bothering others." Hearing Conan's explanation, Ran's expression softened. "Don't bother Ms. Koshimizu these next few days. I told her to let me know when Mr. Shinjo comes back."

"But……"

"No buts." Ran turned to Kogoro Mouri. "Dad, didn't you say you had a class reunion this weekend? You said you'd take me and Conan with you."

"Huh?" Kogoro Mouri was taken aback, not understanding what was going on for a moment.

“If we leave him at home, he’ll definitely find a way to sneak out and go find Mr. Shinjo,” Ran said, ruffling Conan’s hair. “It’s better to take him out and not cause trouble for others.”

"Fine, fine," Kogoro Mouri said, somewhat annoyed.

He had already planned to have a big drinking session at the class reunion, but if Ran came along, he knew he wouldn't be able to enjoy himself as much. However, he also understood the importance of the matter; Shinjo was probably busy with something extremely important right now, and it wouldn't be appropriate to let Conan bother others.

Conan looked bewildered. He hadn't expected his weekend holiday to be arranged like this. Was this a form of house arrest?

However, seeing the expressions on Kogoro Mouri and Ran Mouri's faces, he could only keep quiet. If he were to say he didn't want to go now, he would likely be met with a mixed doubles match.

Just then, the phone on the table suddenly rang. Kogoro Mouri listened for only a few words before hanging up with a gloomy expression.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Xiaolan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Inspector Megure called to say that in the last bank robbery case, the robbers were killed, and the guards who helped them move the cash were also killed." Kogoro Mouri remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

Chapter 106 The Watcher at the Book Fair

"What?" Conan was stunned. "Weren't the robbers' identities still unconfirmed? How could they have been killed?"

“There was a deceased man named Shiro Kaizuka, a former race car driver. We found bank blueprints and a map showing the escape route in his house.” Mori shook his head. “A total of six people died: a robber, a guard, and the identities of the remaining four are unknown.”

"Six?" Conan and Ran both looked extremely shocked.

“That car is just an ordinary family sedan. To fit those large boxes of cash, the back seats would need to be folded down at least halfway, and it can only seat three people at most.” Conan immediately followed up, “Even if you include the guard, it would only be four at most, how could it be six?”

"There were six of them. Three of them got into a fierce gunfight with one of Shiro Kaizuka's robbers. All three died from Kaizuka's shotgun. Kaizuka was shot three times and then committed suicide. Megure and the others suspect that Kaizuka knew someone wanted to kill him, so he made preparations in advance." Kogoro Mouri sighed, "Megure's been having a run of bad luck lately. Tokyo is getting more and more chaotic."

Conan, head bowed in thought, realized this matter was connected to the Black Organization, and these robbers were very likely members of the organization. But who would dare to double-cross that organization? Things seemed to be getting increasingly complicated. If only he could find Uncle Shinjo and ask him…

Thinking of this, he broke out in a cold sweat. He was a detective, how could he trouble others with everything? When did he develop this dependence?

Some things still need to be investigated and confirmed by myself; that guy isn't a good person either. While he wouldn't lie, he's certainly done his fair share of things like concealing key information and misleading inferences.

In a studio apartment, Akemi Miyano watched the news on TV with a deep frown. She hid the key to her safe in an electrical outlet, then dressed and went out.

The money is still in her hands, and there's still some time before the delivery date. She's not worried about Gin silencing her or framing her, but it's still better to be careful.

Just then, her phone rang, and as soon as she answered, she heard Vodka's furious questioning.

"I've disposed of the gun as agreed. I don't know why Shiro Kaizuka got his hands on it," Akemi Miyano asked coldly. "The assassins couldn't even kill a driver, and three of them died. It's shameful."

"You!" Vodka was speechless after being choked by Miyano Akemi, and he was also puzzled as to why this woman was being so assertive this time.

"Why kill them? Or am I on your list too?"

"This is none of your business." Vodka's forehead broke out in a sweat at Miyano Akemi's question.