Chapter 193: A "Warm" Greeting
"Due to an accident, you went from a seventeen-year-old high school student to a first-grade elementary school student.
After shrinking, you moved into your childhood friend Ran Mouri's house and solved many cases using the identity of detective Kogoro Mouri.
Hiding your identity while living in your childhood friend's house must be very exciting... Maybe you'll even witness some embarrassing situations."
Conan was shocked. His violently pounding heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, and boundless darkness closed in from all directions, gradually enveloping him.
"Professor Agasa!"
He turned to Professor Agasa, hoping the professor could give him an answer.
He hoped this little girl was just some prank by Professor Agasa—otherwise, things would be very serious.
Professor Agasa shook his head blankly. "I didn't tell her your identity. Even if I accidentally mentioned your name, she shouldn't know this much."
Indeed, it seemed more like Professor Agasa had been investigated rather than having told her anything.
Also, what was this about "embarrassing situations"? He didn't understand.
Who exactly is this little brat...?
"Who are you?!" Conan took two steps back, knees slightly bent, as if he were about to crouch down and activate his Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes if she didn't give a reasonable explanation.
"So you admit you're Kudo Shinichi?"
Sherry smiled slightly. Spending so much time in the Organization had made her a bit cunning, especially after recently being exposed to Tequila's methods—that guy loved this sort of thing.
The more painful it was before, the more enjoyable it was now. Toying with others like this was so satisfying that she didn't really want to explain her identity.
But that obviously wouldn't work. Judging from Kudo Shinichi's posture, it seemed he was about to attack her if she didn't give a reasonable explanation.
Her body had shrunk, making her strength and stamina no different from an ordinary child's. Coupled with her cold and fever, if Conan wanted to attack her, she wouldn't be able to resist at all.
She was like a porcelain doll that would shatter at the slightest touch.
The two stood facing each other, their eyes locked, their gazes seemingly materializing into red and blue lightning, clashing fiercely.
Professor Agasa, standing to the side, was somewhat unsure of what to do. How did one resolve children's quarrels? All his expertise was focused on helping Conan—in other aspects, he was no different from an ordinary person.
What should an ordinary person be doing now? Shouldn't they just stand by and watch?
Suddenly, Professor Agasa had an epiphany. He stood aside, listening intently, wanting to know the little girl's identity and why she knew about Shinichi.
No, it wasn't just knowing—she knew Conan inside and out.
"And who are you?" Conan clenched his fists, already having a guess.
As for her question, he wouldn't answer. Answering now would put him in a passive position.
"Looks like you've already guessed."
Sherry's smile was sinister, her arms crossed. Her pale face now held a strange kind of terror in Conan's eyes.
While Sherry was toying with Conan, Gin dispatched multiple teams to search for her whereabouts.
"Honestly, if we didn't find any footprints, she probably didn't come through here. No normal person would choose to escape through the sewers—wouldn't it be more convenient to just take a taxi?"
Natsukawa, wearing a mask, frowned, unable to find a reason to complain. Gin was too meticulous—he even searched the sewers.
After spending over an hour in the sewers, the mask was no longer effective. Natsukawa felt he desperately needed a gas mask.
No, a gas mask would interfere with the disguise mask. A regular mask was less likely to cause problems.
Gin was also outrageous, ordering all the peripheral members and code-named members to conduct a thorough search of the Beika area.
He and Vodka, as Gin's most trusted subordinates, were sent to the "worst place"—the sewers.
"Right, let's head up once we've cleared this section." Vodka also looked dejected, feeling utterly helpless. "Where did that wretched woman Sherry go? That ventilation duct is so small—how could she possibly escape through there?"
Even now, Vodka couldn't figure it out, but the only way to escape the research facility undetected was through the ventilation duct.
But unless it's a very small child, no one could squeeze through that ventilation duct.
"How should I know? What were you doing last night? Why didn't you notice Sherry's escape?" Natsukawa was the first to question. This had nothing to do with him—he wasn't stationed at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals.
Vodka glanced around, then mysteriously leaned close to Natsukawa's ear.
Natsukawa pushed him away. The guy's mask was covered in grime and dust, and he reeked of bad breath.
Besides, they were the only two people in this sewer. There was no need for such secrecy.
Vodka wasn't offended. He took out a new mask from his pocket and put it on, then said, "Last night we discovered someone was investigating Shirakage Pharmaceuticals' electricity usage. If it weren't for our contact at the power company, we wouldn't have found out.
Because of this, Aniki and I wasted several hours outside, and when we came back, Sherry was gone."
"Investigating Shirakage Pharmaceuticals' electricity usage? Do you know who it is? If we've been discovered, why didn't we evacuate?" Natsukawa frowned.
The investigator was most likely from the Japanese Public Security Bureau. As expected, Jodie had probably discovered Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, but why hadn't they made a move yet?
"It's not a big problem. Aniki and I followed them yesterday and found out they're investigating all companies with abnormal electricity usage in Beika and Haido. There are at least twenty companies with abnormal electricity usage. And those people seem to be from the Metropolitan Police Department. Since it's not Public Security, it won't affect us—at most, we'll have to pay a fine."
Because of the underground research facility, Shirakage Pharmaceuticals' electricity usage naturally exceeded the normal limit for pharmaceutical companies. However, many companies on the market had electricity issues these days, so Vodka didn't take it seriously, treating it as a routine inspection.
Moreover, over the years, Shirakage Pharmaceuticals had paid numerous fines for abnormal electricity usage. This year's fine just came a little earlier.
"Something's not right. Normal electricity usage checks affect fire safety, right? That should be the fire department's responsibility, not the Metropolitan Police Department's."
Natsukawa frowned. It seemed Gin hadn't taken this matter seriously—this was something he needed to point out.
Vodka paused upon hearing this, but then waved his hand dismissively. "Because of Sherry's escape, Shirakage Pharmaceuticals can no longer be used as a research base. Starting at 3 AM, large quantities of research equipment have been transported to the safe house.
Once the important equipment is gone, Shirakage Pharmaceuticals will be burned to the ground. No matter what the purpose of this investigation is, by the time they confirm Shirakage Pharmaceuticals is problematic, it'll be too late.
After all, there are twenty such facilities. By the time they confirm it's us, we'll already be gone."
Natsukawa shook his head, choosing not to comment. It was hard to say. If Jodie knew it was a research base, then Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, being a research-oriented company, would easily attract attention.
The two thoroughly inspected the entire sewer system without incident, finding no trace of Sherry.
"Where are you going?"
Back on the surface, Vodka noticed Natsukawa walking alone toward the car.
Following his brother's instructions, since the sewer search had yielded nothing, they were supposed to retrieve surveillance footage from a nearby convenience store.
Whether the convenience store would cooperate was another matter. They had forged Metropolitan Police Department credentials, so impersonating the First Investigation Division to get the footage wouldn't be a problem.
"I think there's something wrong with this investigation. I'm going to find Aniki. You handle the surveillance issue first, and I'll come back when I'm done."
Gin was furious this time, but he wasn't personally searching.
A week ago, he might have searched himself, but now he had the capable Tequila under his command, so he didn't need to go through all that trouble.
After returning to Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, Natsukawa first drove around the area, checking all possible surveillance points.
"Fortunately, Jodie's team is probably still in the screening phase. There's still time."
Back at Shirakage Pharmaceuticals' underground research facility, Natsukawa went straight to Gin.
"Aniki."
"Tequila, what are you doing back here?" Gin's tone was very displeased, whether because of Sherry or something else was unclear.
Sherry's disappearance had enraged him, earning him a scolding from the boss. He'd intended to work her to death, but she'd escaped in a moment of inattention.
To this day, he couldn't understand how Sherry could have escaped through such a small ventilation duct. But what other possibility was there besides that duct?
Or was the ventilation duct just a decoy, and someone in the Organization had secretly taken Sherry away?
However, after reviewing the surveillance footage from the past two days, he couldn't find anyone who could have let Sherry go.
The last time he'd seen Sherry in the storage room was with Vodka, and no one had entered or left the storage room after that until Sherry's disappearance.
Rubbing his temples, Gin put these matters aside for now. Tequila's sudden return gave him a bad feeling.
"We might be under surveillance." Natsukawa looked directly at Gin and said, word by word, "Vodka said someone came to inspect the electricity last night. It's very likely someone is looking for us, most likely the police.
They often use the Metropolitan Police Department's name, but this time they've slipped up. Electricity inspections are the fire department's job—they used the wrong cover, which is how I discovered their deception."
"Police?" Gin narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but stand up, pacing. "Do you have any evidence?"
Natsukawa shook his head, his tone firm. "No evidence. This is just my speculation. When I came back just now, I checked the neighborhood and didn't find any police presence.
However, not finding anything now doesn't mean they won't take action. After they finish their screening, they'll probably make a move."
"There's no reason they would suddenly start investigating us and even know we have bases in Beika or Haido." Gin was completely puzzled.
"It's probably related to the extortion operation. Suzuki Jirokichi didn't hide the fact that he was being extorted, and Public Security probably discovered some clues."
This was an excuse Natsukawa had already prepared, and it was also why he hadn't emphasized he was Kaitou Kid when making the deal with Suzuki Jirokichi.
Having Kaito send another notice was also to provide an excuse later, to try to redirect Gin's attention elsewhere and extricate himself and Miyano Akemi from the spotlight.
Otherwise, if Gin investigated for a mole, Natsukawa might not be able to keep his identity hidden.
After all, Tequila's whereabouts were too suspicious, with no verifiable trail. If Gin investigated even slightly, he'd find that Tequila had major problems.
"Hmm." Gin nodded in relief. Tequila had thought of the same thing as him.
He didn't think there was an undercover agent in the Organization, nor did he think this Public Security operation was related to Sherry.
First of all, the people who participated in the extortion operation were all key code-named members.
His subordinates: Vodka, Tequila, Korn, and Chianti.
Baileys, whom he'd borrowed from Vermouth.
And Bourbon, who reported directly to the boss.
These six people were all key members—it was impossible for any of them to have problems.
Sherry had last been seen at 10 PM last night, and the people investigating the power company had conducted their surprise inspection at the power bureau at 9 PM, so the two weren't related.
The only recent operations were the one billion yen heist and the Lupin kidnapping extortion plan.
The one billion yen heist was executed flawlessly. The problem might lie in the extortion operation following the Lupin kidnapping.
Speaking of which, Kaitou Kid also had to take the blame. If that thief hadn't suddenly sent an advance notice, disrupting his plans, Public Security definitely wouldn't have discovered anything.
It was because Kaitou Kid showed up that Suzuki Jirokichi drove away the police from the Second Investigation Division, forcing them to reveal themselves, which gave them away.
"I should have dealt with this Kaitou Kid problem sooner." Gin took a deep drag on his cigarette, his eyes flashing coldly.
Natsukawa coughed lightly and said, "Actually, it's not a huge problem. Now that Sherry has escaped, the base's exposure was inevitable.
Besides, when I came in, I saw that most of the valuable research equipment had already been moved out. We can accept the loss of abandoning the base."
Gin nodded silently. That was true, but the exposure of Shirakage Pharmaceuticals would still have a significant impact on him.
For example, the nine billion yen he'd just acquired would probably all have to be invested in constructing a new research base.
"In that case, notify everyone to prepare for evacuation." Gin waved his hand, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Natsukawa, "I heard from Vodka that you can get your hands on grenades?"
After the gunfight in the suburbs, Gin had heard Vodka mention it. At the time, he wasn't interested in grenades, and since Tequila said he'd gotten them from a yakuza organization, he'd subconsciously assumed the quantity was small.
But now he suddenly asked this question because he'd just thought of a plan to annoy the Japanese Public Security Bureau.
The exposure of Shirakage Pharmaceuticals was unavoidable, but the equipment that hadn't been moved out yet was worth a fortune, and Gin didn't intend to leave it for Public Security.
They were preparing a grand fireworks display to bid farewell to Shirakage Pharmaceuticals and also to give a "warm" greeting to the Japanese Public Security Bureau.
"Aniki, what are you planning to do?" Natsukawa's eyes lit up. He'd just been thinking about how to recommend the plastic explosives to Gin, but Gin had asked the question himself, saving him the trouble.
(End of Chapter)
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