Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Page 130

The day after eliminating the five-star assassin Maya, Sano immediately received another mission from Gin.

"Shenlong".

Sano touched his chin thoughtfully.

The Shenlong was a ship that had been confirmed missing seven years ago on a rainy night.

Whether it's missing or not isn't really important; what's important is that this ship is carrying gold worth one billion yen!

Now, the missing ship has reappeared. Just yesterday, all the residents of a remote island called Shikishima witnessed the ship drifting by after a storm.

However, only the ship appeared; the gold inside had long since vanished.

It may have sunk to the bottom of the sea during its drift, or it may have been moved away by someone who happened to find the ship.

This matter has garnered a lot of attention, and it even made today's headlines.

Sano's mission is to investigate the situation and, if possible, bring the gold back.

...Ten billion gold coins, last time it was ten billion maple leaf coins, right? Is Gin treating himself like a treasure hunter?

And this is worth a billion dollars worth of gold, all in gold bars. Unlike the Maple Leaf Gold Coins, which are works of art, this is very heavy.

Of course, Sano wasn't the only one who suffered.

Gin said he had arranged a teammate for Sano, who had already set off for the ferry terminal to Shikishima. Once Sano arrived, they would begin their operation.

"When I'm free, I'm incredibly bored; when I'm busy, I'm incredibly busy."

Sano sighed, quickly packed his things, and took a taxi to the train station.

That afternoon, at a ferry crossing, a man in black stood on the shore, enjoying the sea breeze.

At a certain moment, the man suddenly turned around and looked at the figure walking towards him wearing a baseball cap and a hoodie. He smiled slightly and said, "You've finally come, Rye. I've been waiting for you for so long."

Sano sized up the man in front of him: "Vermouth, right?"

In the email Gin sent, he mentioned the codenames of Sano's teammates in this operation.

It is pronounced as Vermouth, but judging from the name of the wine that Sano looked up, its real meaning should be absinthe.

Another point that concerned Sano was that at the end of the email, Gin reminded him to remain vigilant at all times.

What does it mean?

Whether there are any dangerous factors in this mission is still unknown, and the mission information sent did not mention it. Therefore, what Gin asked Sano to be wary of should not be external factors, but rather... internal factors.

"That's right, it's me. I was promoted to cadre a little earlier than you, so you could be considered my senior."

Looking at Vermouth, who seemed to be very familiar with him, Sano smiled and narrowed his eyes: "Then please take care of me, senior."

"No problem."

Vermouth waved her hand generously: "But before that, Rye, don't you think it's rather impolite to be so secretive?"

"what?"

Sano didn't immediately grasp what Vermouth meant.

Vermouth tilted her head and bent down, as if trying to see Sano's face from below, and of course, she really did want to see Sano's face.

"What kind of technique is that? How come I can't see your face no matter what angle I'm looking at it from?"

Seeing Vermouth's intense curiosity, Sano was somewhat surprised when he finally realized what was happening.

Since Sano received the passerby hat, he seems to be the first person to directly question the "can't see his face clearly" setting.

"There's no special technique involved. If a senior wants to see a junior's face, then of course it would be an honor."

Sano smiled and pulled down his hood, also taking off his hat. His white hair, which had been pressed down, was immediately blown about by the sea breeze.

Vermouth's pupils contracted, and she revealed a smile that was hard to decipher: "So you're the one who's been making headlines lately, the bomb-crazy faceless maniac. I've heard so much about you."

Chapter 162, Episode 161: Conan's Sins

Sano maintained his humble smile: "Oh, it's not that exaggerated. The number of people who have died at my hands hasn't even exceeded double digits. How can I compare to my senior?"

Vermouth's lips twitched, and she rolled her eyes inwardly. "Keep bragging. Apart from researchers and a very small number of logistics personnel, which core cadre with a code name doesn't have blood on their hands?"

They said they only killed a few dozen people? Who would believe that?

...Furthermore, even if that were true, it would still involve dozens of precious lives. How could they talk about it like it was just a slice of bread they ate in the morning?

With just one glance and one sentence, Sano's image in Vermouth's mind had already become that of a cold-blooded, perverted killer who was full of lies and killed without hesitation.

"Then, let's start by..."

Just as Vermouth was about to suggest setting off quickly to complete the mission, a conversation suddenly broke out in the distance.

Why would anyone take a ferry to such a remote place as Shikishima?

Vermouth and Sano were both startled... because the voices they were exchanging sounded very familiar.

It's Conan, that troublemaker.

Sano clicked his tongue and, taking advantage of Vermouth's absence, quickly changed his disguise.

After all, Sano's rye vest, whether it's directly showing his face or making it impossible to see his face after he puts on a passerby hat, will most likely make Conan wary.

That would be too troublesome.

Of course, Sano doesn't plan to use his real identity as an alias. As mentioned before, his real identity always appears at the same time as the rye alias, which is easy to arouse suspicion.

Especially since Sano is currently standing next to a criminal.

So when Vermouth looked at Sano again, the white-haired boy had become a boy wearing casual clothes and with a short, black, slicked-back hairstyle.

what's the situation?

Vermouth was even more shocked. She hadn't been paying attention for a moment, how could the person have changed?

"You also know the art of disguise?"

Vermouth stared at Sano, who had switched to his black vest without his special attack suit, with suspicion and uncertainty.

"I know a little."

Sano maintained his humble character, just as Gin said, "One should always keep a low profile."

Vermouth narrowed her eyes, her surprise growing.

Because Vermouth also knows how to disguise herself, and even the face she's using now is fake.

Actually, Vermouth had always lived abroad before, and strictly speaking, it wasn't convenient for her to return to Japan.

But recently, I heard that a new person joined the organization, and that he was the new generation of rye whiskey handpicked by the boss, so Vermouth wanted to find out more about him.

Unexpectedly, Vermouth, despite her special status within the organization, did not have the authority to view the other party's detailed information in the database.

This made Vermouth even more curious.

There must be some secret about this newcomer.

Therefore, after returning this time, Vermouth took the opportunity to greet Gin and took the initiative to propose the team composition for this mission and the selection of teammates.

Regarding the disguise technique, Vermouth was surprised by the perfection of the other party's skill.

As a seasoned expert in disguise, Vermouth was able to detect no flaws in Sano's face. This level of skill was comparable to her own disguise technique.

But this level of disguise shouldn't be possessed by many people in the world, and everyone knows each other to some extent...

Furthermore, Sano's speed in changing faces and clothes is simply too fast. In the short time it takes to turn one's gaze away, one's face, hairstyle, and clothes are all changed.

So it's another matter whether the face the other person showed earlier was real or fake. No wonder they were able to keep messing around with the police without getting caught.

Thinking of this, Vermouth was immediately annoyed, because the other party had clearly been shouting that "it is an honor for senior to see junior's face", but in the end, what she was shown was a fake face!

At this moment, Vermouth had forgotten that she was also using a fake face to meet the other party. Her heart was slightly heavy. Just what was the background of this new generation of Rye?

Just as Vermouth was deep in thought, the voices were getting closer and closer, and several figures came into Sano's view, confirming that this mission would definitely not be peaceful.

"Hey, there are other people here too?"

Kogoro Mouri looked at Sano and Vermouth in surprise: "Are you two also going to Shikijima? Are you residents of the island, or are you going there for tourism?"

Ran Mouri, standing to the side, curiously looked at Sano and patted Conan, saying, "Hey, Conan, look at this guy, he looks just like his senior."

"It does look somewhat similar..."

Conan was also secretly observing Sano, but he felt that there was someone else who looked more like him than Sano. Who was it again...?

Sano originally wanted to maintain his aloof persona as Kogoro Mouri and didn't want to speak, but after waiting and waiting without hearing a reply from Vermouth, and with her gaze fixed on Ran Mouri, even the shameless Kogoro Mouri became embarrassed and could only bump into Vermouth.

"What are you doing."

"what?"

Vermouth snapped out of her daze and quickly smiled, "Excuse me, I was stunned for a moment because this lady looks a lot like someone I know. Yes, we're going to Shiki Island for tourism."

"Oh, I see..."

However, Kogoro Mouri had no desire to chat anymore. He simply moved his feet silently, blocking Vermouth and Ran Mouri's line of sight.

A man who stares intently at his daughter the moment they meet, and uses lame excuses like "we're acquaintances" to get closer to her, is clearly not a good person.

Kogoro Mouri felt it was his responsibility as a father to address the problem at its root.

Vermouth clearly noticed this as well, but she didn't pay much attention to it and simply turned to look at the sea.

Just because Vermouth doesn't care doesn't mean Sano won't. If Kogoro Mouri can see that something is wrong with Vermouth, how could he not?

"You know that girl."

Although it is a question, Sano uses a declarative tone.

Vermouth remained calm: "I already said it's just that she looks a lot like someone I know."

"What acquaintance is he/she? How old is he/she? Where does he/she live? What is his/her name?"

Vermouth retorted with a mixture of amusement and indifference, "Are you checking my household registration? Do I need to answer your questions?"

"Of course not. As a junior, I was just curious about what my senior was doing."

Hearing the obvious resistance in Vermouth's later words, Sano didn't press the matter further. After all, if the other person wasn't willing to talk, he couldn't very well arrest her and interrogate her.

However, after this incident, Sano was certain that his teammate did indeed know Ran Mouri, and that their relationship was far more than just a few meetings.