Conan: When Shinjiu and Maolilan swap bodies

By the time she received her codename, Koniak had become a figure feared by everyone in the organization.

She gazed at the light from afar, silently, never imagining, nor knowing, that behind that light lay such a bottomless quagmire, filled with pain and self-destruction.

She never tried to get close, never reached out a hand, and never offered the slightest comfort or assistance.

“Qingze…”

In an instant, a profound sadness, a mixture of shock, heartache, and guilt, washed over me.

Tears welled up without warning, quickly blurring her vision, and rolled down her pale cheeks.

Seeing her suddenly burst into tears, Ran Mouri, who was immersed in her own grief, was slightly taken aback, but then realized what was happening.

Bai Yu's emotions are more sensitive than most people's; she shouldn't have said those things...

She leaned over, reached out, and gently cupped her cheeks, softly wiping away the warm tears that kept flowing.

"Baiyu, don't cry. Those things... are all in the past."

She gazed into Baiyu's tear-filled eyes and said earnestly, word by word:

"Qingze is an extremely, extremely capable person."

"He climbed out of that abyss step by step, gradually brought his condition under control, and slowly returned to a normal life..."

Her eyes held heartache and reminiscence, but even more so, a solid radiance rooted in understanding and trust.

“He doesn’t need our sorrow, Baiyu.”

She shook her head gently, her tone soft yet resolute.

He came over not to elicit anyone's tears. What he needed... was perhaps just to be understood, to be firmly chosen, and then to move forward together.

"And all we can do is trust him, help him, and protect every hard-won 'ordinary' moment in the present and the future."

Outside the car window, the waves continued to surge.

Bai Yu lowered her eyelashes and shed scalding tears once again.

Ordinary life—how luxurious and fragile it is for them who have crawled out of the darkness.

She started the car again, gripped the steering wheel tightly, and drove toward the red dot on the screen.

All the churning emotions in my chest were compressed into the hardest fuel, which coalesced into a raging fire in my eyes.

She gazed ahead, her eyes resolute and unwavering.

Everything that hindered him, everything that tried to drag him back into the mire, everything that attempted to destroy this hard-won "normalcy"—

They will all disappear!

Chapter 543 Come on, let's see who comes out on top.

Fryward sat on the sofa in the villa, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

At first, I didn't feel this way, but as time went by, this unease gradually crept into my heart.

Fryward has always trusted his instincts.

If you feel uneasy, then something is definitely about to happen.

This was a sixth sense honed through years of being an assassin, which saved her life countless times.

Is it bourbon?

She revealed her identity to Bourbon today, and if Bourbon wants to arrest her, it's very likely he will.

But how will Bourbon find her?

Or has something happened?

She seized this villa after clearing out a young couple living there.

This place is by the sea, in a remote location, and there are no other neighbors around.

She's been living quite comfortably lately.

If something like that happens, it could indeed be a bit troublesome...

She took out a palm-sized precision instrument from the box and examined the surrounding signal frequencies.

We need to first rule out whether we've been secretly tracked before we can determine the next course of action.

beep.

A soft notification sound rang out.

A signal source icon is flashing at the edge of the screen.

Fryward's fingers tensed instantly, and his face darkened.

They actually managed to locate me!

When did this happen?

After a quick search, she spotted the coat she had taken off.

Beep, beep, beep...

As the probe approaches the clothing, the beeping becomes clearer and more regular, and the signal strength bar on the screen reaches a peak in the right pocket as the probe moves.

Her pupils suddenly contracted.

In the pocket of his clothes?

She quickly recalled everything that had happened that day.

After leaving Poirot this morning, she casually tossed her coat into the car, then spent the afternoon shopping, getting a beauty treatment, and so on.

She returned to her residence after finishing dinner.

Bourbon had never been near her, and he was unaware of his own identity before Ran Mouri appeared, so it couldn't have been Bourbon who put her there.

So, there is only one person.

She crushed the miniature locator between her fingers, and a cold laugh escaped Freward's throat, sounding particularly eerie in the empty bedroom.

"Ah, Ran Mouri..."

A surge of anger and the shame of being fooled overwhelmed her, and her expression became somewhat ferocious.

She was actually tricked by such a little girl!

Now that her location has been exposed, Ran Mouri is probably already on her way.

As far as she knew, Koniak was currently on a mission with Gin and couldn't get away.

With Koniak gone, Ran Mouri isn't really a threat.

The ferocious expression on her face quickly faded, replaced by a predator's excited gleam after being provoked.

"The little white rabbit was actually a big gray wolf... Hehehe... But even wolves die when they encounter a hunting rifle..."

She cocked both pistols and licked her lips.

"Come on, come on, let me see what tricks you have up your sleeve, kid. This isn't child's play."

In the shadows outside the villa, Ran Mouri and Shiratama, both dressed in black, looked solemnly at the villa plunged into darkness.

On the tracking screen in Bai Yu's hand, the light from the locator had gone out a few minutes ago, leaving only an unsettling blank screen.

“The signal has disappeared; she has already discovered it.” Bai Yu’s expression was somewhat grave.

Once his location was discovered, Fryward became alert, making it much harder for him to sneak in undetected.

They had no choice but to force their way in and confront them head-on.

Bai Yu turned her head to the side, her gaze falling on the profile of Ran Mouri, which was being blown by the night wind.

"Xiao Lan, you stay outside and wait for my signal."

She had no intention of letting Ran Mouri take any risks. Even though Ran Mouri was quite skilled, she was still just a high school student, and facing a dangerous assassin with a gun would be too dangerous.

"I also need to go."

Ran Mouri answered without hesitation; her gaze met Shirayu's in the darkness, clear and resolute.

Bai Yu was worried about her. Could she really just sit back and watch Bai Yu venture into a dangerous place alone?

"Don't worry, dealing with one Freward is a piece of cake."

Bai Yu gently patted Ran Mouri's shoulder. Moonlight swept across the corner of her eye, revealing an almost sharp, confident smile.

However, Ran Mouri shook her head and reached out to grab the arm that Shirogane had patted on her shoulder.

"Bai Yu, don't underestimate me. Fryward is after me, and I can't and won't let you face this danger for me."

Ran Mouri's gaze was intense, her expression resolute, brooking no retreat.

She is not someone who needs to be protected all the time, nor does she want to be someone who needs to be protected all the time.

Her plan was to strike first, and she was also the one targeted by Fred. Now that the door was open, how could she possibly stand here and watch Bai Yu step into danger?

Under the moonlight, the two stood silently facing each other for a moment.

The sea breeze whipped up sand and gravel, gently patting their trouser legs.

Seeing the protectiveness in Bai Yu's eyes, Ran Mouri suddenly chuckled softly, her smile confident and composed.

"Have you forgotten? I am agate."

This code name that Qingze casually made up is sometimes more convincing and persuasive than demonstrating his strength.

After all, that's Agate, a member of a mysterious organization!

Bai Yu was taken aback.

Yes.

She is Agate, not an ordinary high school student.

When she showed her talent, even Qingze could only stand aside as a foil.

"it is good!"

Bai Yu grasped her hand, her eyes shining brightly, "Then let's fight side by side!"

In the darkness, time is stretched out and the senses are amplified.

Fryward leaned against the cold wall at the corner of the second-floor staircase, his body taut like a bowstring, his breathing barely audible.

She gripped the gun handle tightly with her right hand and pressed her left hand against the wall, trying to detect the slightest vibrations.

The doors and windows were locked. There were only two options to get in: break down the door or break down the window.

Since breaking down the door is unlikely, the only option left is to break the window.

wow-

A piercing sound of shattering glass, like a thunderclap, suddenly came from the side of the first floor.

Immediately following were shards of glass falling and a muffled thud as if something had entered.

coming!

Fryward licked his lips but made no other move.

She wasn't sure who was coming or how many there were, but in the darkness, the sounds the enemy made were the biggest indicator, revealing their location.

She pricked up her ears and focused all her attention.

There were no further intrusions, no footsteps, only the occasional soft clatter of shards of glass sliding down the window, and the mournful sound of the waves outside.

Was it just a feint attack, and they didn't actually come in?

A cold smile tugged at the corners of Fryward's mouth.

You want to test your patience?

She remained absolutely still, her breathing barely audible.

Sudden--

Clang! Crash—!

Another loud crash of shattering glass, this time on the second floor!