Detective Conan: Shadow Legion Office

117: Chapter 117 The bewildered Black Organization and the enraged organization bossInside the Black Organization’s secret base deep within the Alps, the obsidian chandelier emitted a cold, ghostly light, illuminating the entire conference room like an ice cellar.

At the head of the long table sat a figure shrouded in shadow in a high-backed chair—the BOSS of the organization, the mysterious mastermind controlling the global underground network.

His fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, producing a dull sound; each tap felt like a hammer blow against the hearts of everyone present.

Rum stood by the table with his head bowed, his mechanical prosthetic eye reflecting a cold light; Gin leaned against the wall, the hem of his black trench coat trailing on the floor. He wore no expression, but a trace of imperceptible tension was hidden in the depths of his eyes.

”Trash.”

The BOSS’s voice, processed through a voice changer, carried a mechanical rasp, yet it was laced with bone-chilling coldness.

He slammed a stack of documents onto the table. The papers scattered, revealing the title on top: ”Global Intelligence Summary on the ’Rejuvenation’ Drug.”

”The old geezer from Rockefeller called yesterday, threatening me with the tone of ’cooperation’.”

The BOSS’s voice grew colder. ”The people from the Morgan Zaibatsu were even more direct, saying they wanted to tour our laboratory. On what grounds? Just based on those baseless rumors?”

Cold sweat beaded on Rum’s forehead.

”BOSS, it was a lapse in our intelligence network. The news about ’rejuvenation’ first emerged from an underground forum in the United States, and our people failed to intercept it in time...”

”I don’t care where the news came from!”

The BOSS interrupted him. ”I only ask you all, when did the organization develop a ’rejuvenation’ drug?”

This sentence exploded in the conference room like a thunderclap.

Gin suddenly raised his head, his gaze as sharp as a knife. He was responsible for the organization’s assassination operations and knew the progress of the drug development department like the back of his hand—

That drug, codenamed APTX4869, had been developed as a ”perfect poison” from the start, with the goal of causing ”natural death,” absolutely not some ”rejuvenation”!

Rum also frowned. He managed the organization’s intelligence and R&D departments and knew better than anyone that the last report from the drug development group still stated, ”Side effects are uncontrollable, mortality rate is 99%.”

”BOSS, that’s impossible.”

Rum’s voice carried a hint of hesitation.

”The development of APTX4869 is still in the experimental stage, and there has never been a recorded case of ’rejuvenation.’ All test subjects who took the drug are marked as ’deceased’ in our files.”

”Deceased?”

The BOSS sneered and threw an encrypted file in front of Rum and Gin.

”Then explain this, why did this high school student named Kudo Shinichi ’disappear’ for a long time after taking the drug, only to be reported dead much later? And this British woman, Akai Mary, why did she suddenly turn into a little girl?”

Gin picked up the file, his pupils constricting sharply.

The file contained a photo of Kudo Shinichi and a detailed investigation report—recording that after he was fed APTX4869, the police confirmed his ”death,” yet someone had seen a primary school student who looked similar to him in Beika Town.

Another report was about Akai Mary, mentioning that she ”disappeared” after being attacked by the organization, and when she reappeared, her figure had become that of a seven or eight-year-old girl.

”This is impossible.”

Gin’s voice was filled with disbelief. ”I personally fed the drug to Kudo Shinichi, and I confirmed his ’death’ on the spot.

As for Akai Mary...” He recalled that operation in London. ”Our men reported that she ’died’ after falling into the river when she was fed the drug.”

”It seems your ’confirmation’ is very unreliable.”

The BOSS’s tone was full of mockery. ”Where are the people from the R&D group? Bring them to see me!”

Rum hurriedly said, ”The head of the R&D group submitted a resignation letter yesterday, citing poor health...”

”Resignation?”

The BOSS’s voice rose sharply. ”Resigning at a time like this? Find him for me! I want him found, dead or alive!”

A deathly silence filled the conference room. Everyone realized that the situation was more serious than they had imagined.

If APTX4869 could truly make people ”rejuvenate,” and the organization’s top brass knew nothing about it, that meant the R&D department might be severely out of control, or even... betraying them.

”Gin.”

The BOSS’s voice softened slightly, but carried an unquestionable order. ”I have a mission for you.”

Gin immediately stood straight. ”Please command me, BOSS.”

”Pull the list of all test subjects who have taken APTX4869 since the organization was founded and check them one by one.”

The BOSS’s voice was cold. ”Confirm whether they are truly dead, or... have turned into something else. I want to know exactly how many ’fish that slipped through the net’ there are.”

A trace of imperceptible excitement flashed in the depths of Gin’s eyes.

His reputation in the organization had declined recently due to several failed missions, and there were even rumors that someone was going to replace him.

Although this task was tedious, it meant that the BOSS still trusted him—only core members were qualified to access the organization’s top-secret archives.

”Yes, BOSS.”

Gin’s tone carried a rare hint of respect. ”I guarantee the mission will be completed.”

Rum looked at Gin, a complex look flashing in his mechanical prosthetic eye. He knew that Gin was using this opportunity to declare to everyone in the organization—he had not lost his power.

The BOSS waved his hand. ”Go. I want to see preliminary results within three days.”

Gin and Rum bowed and turned to leave the conference room.

Walking out of the underground passage of the base, the cold air made Gin sober up a bit.

Vodka was already waiting at the entrance. Seeing Gin come out, he hurried up to him. ”Brother, how was it? Did the BOSS give you a hard time?”

Gin didn’t speak, just threw the encrypted file to him. ”Write down the names mentioned inside and go pull the organization’s test subject files.”

Vodka flipped through the file. When he saw the name ”Kudo Shinichi,” he paused for a moment.

”This name looks familiar... Oh right, it’s that high school detective we took care of a few years ago!” He scratched his head.

”But Brother, we clearly confirmed he was dead at the time, how could...”

”Confirmed?”

Gin snorted coldly, his eyes sharp. ”Go check the enrollment records of all elementary schools in Beika Town, especially first-grade students who transferred in over the last three years. Also, find out Akai Mary’s whereabouts; she couldn’t have vanished into thin air after turning small.”

”Yes!” Vodka didn’t dare ask more and immediately turned to make arrangements.

Gin watched Vodka’s back and lit a cigarette. Amidst the swirling smoke, his eyes grew colder.

He didn’t care about ”rejuvenation,” nor did he care about the threats from the Zaibatsu.

He only cared about the organization’s order and his own status within it.

This mission was an opportunity given to him by the BOSS, and also an opportunity for him to prove himself to those who questioned him.

Soon, news came from the organization’s archive. Vodka found Gin with a thick stack of documents, his face grave. ”Brother, something’s not right.”

He spread out the documents. It was the list of test subjects for APTX4869, densely packed with hundreds of names. Behind each name, it was marked ”Deceased,” accompanied by simple death certificates and scene photos.

”But look here.”

Vodka pointed to a few pages. ”The death certificates for these five people are problematic. Kudo Shinichi’s body was only discovered after a very long time, which is very abnormal. After all, the place where we struck was in a park; it’s impossible for his body to take that long to be discovered.

And Akai Mary’s body ’sank to the bottom of the sea,’ and these three, they were all ’accidental deaths’ without autopsy reports.”

Gin’s fingertips slid over those names, his eyes growing colder.

”Pull out all the information on these five people, including their social connections, their whereabouts before they went missing, and even... their childhood photos.”

”Yes!”

Over the next few days, Gin’s action team fell into unprecedented busyness.

Like hounds, they combed through every possible clue. Vodka led men to raid the Beika Town education department and copied all the elementary school student records;

Chianti and Korn were responsible for monitoring the forces of other Zaibatsu, hoping to follow them to find traces of Akai Mary; Gin himself sat in command, flipping through those yellowed old photos.

”Brother, look at this!”

Vodka ran in holding a photo. On the photo was a boy wearing an elementary school uniform. His features were 70% similar to Kudo Shinichi.

”This is a student in Class 1-B of Beika Elementary School, named Conan Edogawa. He transferred in three years ago, and his parents’ information is all forged!”

Gin took the photo, his pupils constricting sharply.

Although the boy’s hairstyle and demeanor were deliberately imitating an elementary school student, the sharpness and vigilance in those eyes could not be wrong—it was Kudo Shinichi!

”Very good.”

A cold arc hooked at the corner of Gin’s mouth. ”It seems our ’perfect poison’ has had some interesting side effects.”

He picked up the walkie-talkie, his tone carrying a hint of excitement. ”Vodka, have people prepare the plane. We’re going straight back to Tokyo to Beika Elementary School.”

”Brother, go now? Should we notify the BOSS first?”

”No need.”

Gin’s eyes were as sharp as knives. ”Before reporting, I must first ’confirm’ whether this Conan Edogawa is really the person we are looking for.”

Outside the cabin window, the snowy peaks of the Alps gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Gin watched the scenery flying backward outside the window, the smile on his lips growing thicker.

He knew that this tedious investigation was about to become interesting.

And those ”fish that slipped through the net” hiding in the shadows would soon get a taste of his power.

After all, immortality—it wasn’t like he, Gin, couldn’t strive for it himself.

The organization’s order must be maintained by him. Any uncontrolled variables would be eliminated. Gin thought righteously in his heart.

This disturbance triggered by ”rejuvenation” had only just revealed the tip of the iceberg.

And Gin was already prepared for the hunt.