Conan, I'm an actor

“Last night, just before the FBI left, James, the intelligence officer, received a message from Vermouth in Tokyo on his phone, which Jodie Starling happened to see.” As Karen spoke, the image on the television changed, playing a surveillance video that appeared to show James and Jodie arguing.

"How did she get exposed? It doesn't make sense. The FBI in Japan didn't find her, but the FBI in the US found her trail instead."

“There was an undercover agent who provided the clues, but that agent was killed seven days ago.”

Shinjo lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the clues in his mind beginning to connect. The undercover agent was dead, so it wasn't him who reported the information; the most likely culprit was Vermouth herself.

With the FBI completely withdrawing from Japan, Jodie Starling staying behind will definitely be working with Shuichi Akai. Akai can hide, but Jodie might not. That woman is probably planning to follow Jodie's lead to find the hidden Akai.

"Wait a minute, didn't this woman say she wouldn't get involved in this?" Xincheng suddenly sat up. "What is she planning to do now?"

"I don't know." Karen also had a headache. "Recently, that woman named Vermouth hasn't been communicating with me by phone, text message, or email. It seems she's already aware of my presence and is deliberately on guard."

It's obvious that this woman was wary of Karen, so she used someone else's phone and email address.

With her identity as the Thousand-Faced Witch, plus the organization's capabilities and resources, creating a few fake identities and getting a few phone cards would be incredibly easy for her.

No matter how capable Karen is, she cannot monitor all the world's communication lines, at least not now.

Chapter 113 Mori's Travel Invitation

Just as Shinjo was about to go find Vermouth to get some answers, his phone suddenly rang, and the caller ID showed it was Kogoro.

"This is the Koshimizu Detective Agency. Great Detective Kogoro Mouri. What can I do for you?" Shinjo asked casually, picking up his phone.

"Hey Shinjo, are you interested in hot springs? Look, the weather's getting cold, it's the perfect time for a hot spring soak," Kogoro Mouri asked, hiccuping. He'd clearly had quite a bit to drink.

"Xiao Lan shouldn't be here." Xin Cheng looked at the wall clock. "It's only 12 o'clock, and you're already in such a state of drunkenness."

"Whether she's there or not is none of your business. It's good that she's not here, otherwise she'd start nagging again." A somewhat ethereal voice came through the microphone. "You just need to answer me whether you're interested in soaking in hot springs."

“Not really interested.” Xincheng’s answer was quite straightforward. “It’s not easy for me to earn money, so don’t keep thinking about my bonuses all the time.”

"How can you not be interested in hot springs? Let me tell you, there are many benefits to hot springs. Most importantly, there are also..."

"Stop, stop, stop. Get to the point," Xincheng said somewhat impatiently. "I still have cases to work on, so please hurry up."

“I just deposited the money, and I’m a bit strapped for cash lately. Inspector Megure’s bonus was a lot, but Conan and Ran are clamoring to go too. You know, domestic travel is more expensive than international travel these days…” Kogoro Mouri hesitated for a moment, then said with a pained expression, “Booking Shinkansen tickets, plus taxi fares, is too expensive. So I’m thinking of renting a car. If you can come along, the rental cost can be reduced a bit.”

"Don't you have any sense of your own luck?" Shinjo was speechless. "If I remember correctly, the last time you rented a car was to Twilight Villa, right? The car got blown up. Haven't you learned your lesson yet?"

"That was an accident! An accident, you understand?" Kogoro Mouri said smugly. "Besides, Moriarty already paid me back afterwards! This time it was all acquaintances, no one will blow up my car."

“But I heard from Conan that you’ve broken down on the road quite a few times, either due to engine problems or tire blowouts.” Shinjo shook his head vigorously. “If I’m in the same car as you, it’s a problem whether we can even get to our destination on time. I don’t want to encounter such a hassle when I finally get to go on a trip.”

"That's superstition, it's unscientific!" Kogoro Mouri jumped up from his chair. "That brat talks nonsense all day long, don't believe him."

Xincheng shook his head. "Going is fine, but I'll have to drive, and you can drive on the way back."

“No problem!” Upon hearing that Shinjo was willing to help share the costs, Kogoro Mouri immediately agreed.

“Also, there’s something else I need to confirm.” Shinjo’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the table. “I heard from Conan that this is a reunion for your Beika University Judo Club, right? Is it appropriate for me to go to this kind of event?”

"You're my classmate too, what's inappropriate about it?" Kogoro Mouri said somewhat guiltily, "It's a bit inappropriate for Ran and Conan to attend our classmate gathering, if possible..."

"You not only want me to split the car rental cost, but you also want me to take care of the kid, right?" Xincheng rolled her eyes. "Fine, tell me the time and place when you're ready, and I'll let Yueshui know."

"Okay!"

Shinjo looked at the phone after hanging up and sighed, "Kogoro Mouri's class reunion should be sometime soon."

“The student roster at Beika University is all paper-based. They must use fax or phone to book rooms, but I couldn’t find any matching bookings,” Karen said, somewhat exasperated. “Why do Japanese people like to use such traditional methods?”

A smile appeared on Xincheng's lips. "Didn't you say before that there was nothing in the world you couldn't find out? How about that now?"

Meanwhile, in an apartment in Tokyo

"Okay, I understand. I'll leave the rest to you." Shuichi Akai hung up the phone, his expression somewhat strange.

He remembered the conversation on the building very clearly. When the guy handed him the medicine, he said that the medicine would turn Miyano Akemi into someone like his mother.

However, based on the information we have received so far, my mother is not abnormal at all, and is even quite healthy and still active on the front lines.

"Is it possible that he means someone in the organization might be using the same poison to poison Ms. Mary?" Judy asked hesitantly.

"That's possible. By the way, have you found any information about him?" Akai asked, staring at the red and white capsules in the glass bottle.

“We’ve found out. Her code name in the organization is Cognac. She’s a newcomer who only appeared in the last year. She’s Vermouth’s subordinate.” Judy paused when she mentioned Vermouth. “That woman arrived in Japan a few days ago. James just got the news yesterday.”

"Vermouth, that thousand-faced witch?" Akai frowned. "Do you think it could be her?"

"What?" Judy looked up in confusion, clearly not having heard a word Akai had said.

"It's nothing, just some guesses of mine." As Akai spoke, he took out his phone and sent a text message to his younger sister, asking her to remind Akai Mary to keep an eye on Vermouth.

Now he was increasingly curious about the effects of this medicine and why it was worth it for this guy to take such a big risk to deliver it to him.

"Why not just give the drug to James and let him take it back and study it?" Judy asked, somewhat puzzled. "Why go through all that trouble?"

“Giving this medicine to James is less effective than me taking it myself and seeing how it works,” Akai said, shaking his head. “There’s a mole in the FBI. I don’t know who it is, but it definitely exists.”

"Are you afraid that someone will take the medicine away or switch it?" Judy immediately understood Akai's concerns.

"Barely." As he spoke, he put the medicine into his inner pocket, then took out his cell phone. If Shinjo were here, he would recognize this cell phone as exactly the same as the one he had found on the toilet in the public restroom.

Just then, my phone lit up frantically, displaying only the time and location—7:30 PM the day after tomorrow, Beihu Restaurant.

Judy frowned and said, "Are we really going? That guy was an undercover agent, but he died at the hands of another undercover agent..."

She was not optimistic about the operation. The FBI and CIA had many undercover agents within the organization, so she knew very well what these agents would do to ensure they could complete their mission or to ensure their own safety. They would be even more ruthless than the enemy.

“We have to go and see, don’t we?” Akai pulled out his pistol. “Besides, that person gives me a very familiar feeling.”

"A familiar feeling."

"That guy in New York a year ago could very well be him."

“Then we absolutely can’t go. He was the one who rescued Vermouth a year ago.” Judy shuddered, her emotions running high. “And he also…”

"They even kidnapped you and used you as a hostage, right?" Akai asked with a smile. "By the way, did you see his face?"

"No."

"I don't have any either."

"Then why are you so sure it's him?"

"It's just a feeling. I'm really curious about the face behind the mask."

Two days later, Miyano Akemi got out of her car and looked at the detective agency in front of her, her face somewhat blank. Gin had only told her to come to this detective agency, but hadn't told her what she was supposed to do.

"Akami Miyano." Shinjo's voice came from behind her.

"Who?" Miyano Akemi turned around abruptly, her hand instinctively reaching for her wallet in her pocket, and then she saw Shinjo standing there, his finger subtly pointing to his neck.

“It’s me, Cognac. Gin should have told you to cooperate with my operation.” Shinjo glanced around and said, “We’ll talk about the rest in the car.”

Chapter 114 The Layout of Beika Restaurant

Akemi Miyano reacted quickly, swallowing back the rest of her words when she saw the hidden camera, and immediately sat in the passenger seat.

Then she saw a note on the passenger seat that outlined the plan and some important notes.

"The target will appear at tonight's party. He's a traitor to the organization, Shuichi Akai." Shinjo handed a photo directly to Akemi Miyano. "He's an FBI agent, and also your ex-boyfriend and cousin. To prove that you and Sherry won't betray the organization after leaving, and to reveal the organization's secrets, we need you to kill him."

Akemi Miyano's expression changed instantly. Although she knew Shinjo was just fooling the person on the other end of the camera, she couldn't help but ask, "Why? This is different from what we agreed on..."

"This is your last mission. After you complete it, you can leave with Shiho Miyano." As Shinjo spoke, he took a gun from the glove compartment and handed it to Akemi Miyano. "Someone will be watching you the whole time. I hope you won't let us down, or we'll take care of you."

Akemi Miyano paused for a moment, then finally took the pistol and placed it inside her clothes.

A monitoring room

Gin looked at the monitor in front of him and nodded in satisfaction. Although Cognac was not on good terms with him, the guy's abilities were still quite good, at least much stronger than Vodka's.

Just then, the door to the monitoring room opened, and Vodka walked in, holding a list in his hand.

“Boss, we’ve found the list from that time,” Vodka said. “Cognac isn’t on the list, but his friend Nanatsuki Koshimizu is. The list is full of detectives.”

Gin frowned. "Then where is he?"

“I don’t know, I couldn’t find anything.” Vodka’s face stiffened. “We didn’t have anyone monitoring him before, but I think he was probably busy building a data center.”

"should?"

“It’s just speculation, because he bought a lot of servers.” Vodka knew he had messed things up, so he shrank back and said, “These servers were all transported to a building in the port area. The building was built with Cognac’s own funds, and the land was inherited from Jiang Xiaobai.”

"Find out what he's doing in there," Gin said, staring at Vodka. "Don't disappoint me again."

"Yes!" Vodka shuddered, then prepared to leave the monitoring room.

“There’s no rush. Let’s go.” Gin picked up the equipment on the table. “To Beika Restaurant.”

"Beihu Restaurant? Isn't that where Cognac is on his mission today?" Vodka asked, somewhat bewildered. "Boss, don't you trust Cognac?"

"Just going to take a look." Gin put his hat on. "By the way, how's Sherry doing lately?"

“It’s the same as before,” Vodka said with a hint of helplessness. “You know how she treats us. But I’ve already had someone test that drug; it’s definitely poison. Maybe Shinichi just didn’t take it.”

Gin looked rather grim. If the poison wasn't the problem, then Shinichi Kudo's survival was due to his own negligence. According to the organization's orders, when they commit murder, they must remain at the scene to confirm the target's death; they needed to eliminate that detective as quickly as possible.

Cup House Restaurant

“There’s some news that I think you might need to know about,” Karen’s voice rang in Newtown’s ears. “Pisco is planning to hold a global symposium in two months.”

"Oh?" Shinjo responded expressionlessly.

"He followed your plan and chartered a Boeing 737 MAX directly."

"And then?" Shinjo asked, frowning. "You're not planning to help him, are you?"

"Aren't you going to do this?" Karen was taken aback. "If I don't intervene, it's very difficult to interfere with the sensors, and it will leave traces..."

"If they can't even do this, it's only natural that they'd be taken care of." Shinjo looked at Miyano Akemi in the passenger seat. "By the way, are her documents all ready?"

“Everything is ready, all the documents are genuine, it’s in room 1407 of the Beihu Hotel,” Karen said. “You can pick it up anytime you want, the room key is under the carpet by the door.”

Shinjo straightened his tie and walked straight out of the dressing room. Not long after, Miyano Akemi, dressed in an evening gown, also came out of the dressing room, though she was clearly not used to such a long dress.

"Why did you change into this outfit?" Miyano Akemi's face flushed slightly. "This kind of clothing is not convenient for movement at all."

"Of course, it's to help you get closer to your goal." Shinjo checked his watch. "There are still 15 minutes before the banquet starts."

Just then, they heard the piercing sound of police sirens.