Chapter 365: Vermouth’s Killing Switch

(Double Chap)

BONUS CHAPTER 7-8

Inside the car, Jiangxia was successfully scamming the innocent Vermouth for food and drinks.

Meanwhile, back in the classroom of Teitan Elementary School, the children were dragging their feet through their cleaning duties.

Ayumi had just finished wiping the window when she caught a glimpse of the fish tank on the wide sill. Her expression shifted—melancholy crept into her usually cheerful face.

When Conan saw her staring blankly out the window, he initially thought she was worried about Jiangxia, who was still waiting outside, and wondering how she'd explain all this when she finally went home.

But he soon noticed her gaze wasn't focused on the gate where Jiangxia was waiting, but on the fish tank.

He blinked. "What's wrong?"

As he spoke, he leaned over to take a look at the tank himself.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, scenes from crime novels flickered: a finger floating eerily in the corner of the tank… or maybe a school of fish mysteriously dying from poison…

But the water was clear. The tank was clean. The fish were very much alive and doing the aquatic equivalent of tail-wagging—swimming up to the glass to beg for food.

No severed limbs. No fish corpses. Just your average, innocent aquarium.

Ayumi hesitated, then whispered:

"It was my turn to feed the fish on Monday, right? I forgot… I was so scared they'd starve that I sneaked back to the school that night to peek through the window. But when I looked inside…"

Her voice dropped. "I saw someone in the classroom."

Conan froze.

"There was this person… wearing a big white mask. They were sneaking around the podium. I couldn't tell what they were doing, but they looked really angry…"

Now that got Conan's attention. A suspicious person in the classroom, at night?

But what could someone possibly want in an elementary school classroom? Could it be a kidnapper scouting the area ahead of time?

His expression turned serious. "Did you tell a teacher?"

"I did! I told the head of academic affairs. He lives nearby, so I went to find him."

At this point, Ayumi pouted, her eyes reddening. "But ever since then—yesterday and today—he hasn't come to school. I asked the other teachers, and they all said they didn't know where he was. I even went to his house and rang the bell, but no one answered. Boohoo… it must be because I told him, and then that scary masked person killed him!"

"…That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" Conan tried to be rational. "He might just be on a trip or something…"

But then he remembered: the head of academic affairs did live alone. If something had happened to him, it might not be discovered right away.

Just then, a teacher walked by, heading home.

Conan flagged him down. "Mr. Ohata, can I ask something? Do you know why the head of academic affairs hasn't come to school?"

The moment Mr. Ohata heard "head of academic affairs," his face twitched like someone had stepped on a landmine. He forced a laugh: "No idea! Probably had some urgent business. He should be back soon. Anyway, you kids finish cleaning and head home. It's getting late!"

He quickly scampered off, as if afraid the question might chase him down the hallway.

Conan stared at the man's retreating back.

…That was suspicious. Extremely suspicious.

If the guy had gone on a trip, surely the teachers would've been informed. That panicked reaction? Not normal.

The three kids around him had clearly reached the same conclusion.

Ayumi wiped her eyes, guilt still weighing on her.

Mitsuhiko and Genta stepped up solemnly: "Then we must find the evil spirit haunting the school, uncover the truth, and avenge the head of academic affairs!"

Conan: "…"

He folded his arms and looked at them like they were deranged bear children—which, frankly, they were.

But… his curiosity was definitely piqued.

Something was off.

And with Jiangxia still parked outside the school gate, it wouldn't hurt to stay back and investigate. If there really was someone dangerous lurking around, they could alert Jiangxia immediately and have him drag the guy to the nearest police box.

…Or more likely, beat them half to death and then hand them over.

But Jiangxia always knew his limits. It would probably be fine.

As sunset neared, the school security guard began locking up and urged them to head home.

The kids obediently put away their cleaning supplies, walked out of the classroom… and immediately scattered to hide in various corners of campus, planning to sneak back into the building later.

—

Across the street.

Every burrito in the car had been eaten.

The iron gate of Teitan Elementary was now locked, and not a single child had emerged.

Jiangxia calmly sipped miso soup from a warm box, peering out the car window to watch the school building.

Every so often, he'd glance sideways.

He could see "Amuro Tooru" still watching him out of the corner of her eye, gaze locked on his hand holding the soup, expression unreadable.

…What a complicated person. If he didn't eat what she brought, she got upset. If he did eat it, she was still upset. How was that fair?

The soup was excellent, by the way. Rich, savory, soothing. He hadn't even known about this shop before. Definitely worth a revisit—maybe next time, he could bring some of the cat-catching juniors to try it.

He guessed the place sold other dishes too… he'd have to test those next.

Jiangxia mentally bookmarked the location, already planning a taste test itinerary.

"Amuro Tooru" continued to watch him in silence until he polished off the last drop of soup. Only then did she finally look away.

Inside, Vermouth was quietly fuming: If I'd known, I would've added sleeping pills to the soup. Let Ouzo experience firsthand the cruelty of society and the organization.

…No matter. She could still disguise herself anytime. There would be opportunities.

Maybe next time, she'd pretend to be Gin?

No… that would attract Shuichi Akai's attention. Too risky.

As Jiangxia gathered the empty burrito wrappers and soup box, Vermouth—arms folded, scanning the street—suddenly realized something.

"The school gate's already closed, and your little friends still haven't come out?" she said in Amuro Tooru's cheery voice, laced with schadenfreude. "Tomorrow's headlines might read: 'Innocent children mysteriously stranded at school—tragically poisoned.'"

Jiangxia glanced sideways, unimpressed.

Her passive-aggression level was clearly overclocked today.

"Are you… very free today?" he asked dryly.

"Amuro Tooru" froze ever so slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing her expression.

…Wait a minute. Didn't Gin say Bourbon didn't know Ouzo had a codename yet? But this guy just casually implied they were equals.

A peripheral member daring to speak to a senior cadre like this—wasn't that reckless?

Or… had Ouzo already figured her out?

She watched him closely now, fingers resting against her chin, observing.

But Jiangxia, having said his piece, had gone back to staring at the school gates like she wasn't even there.

Vermouth: "…"

Before she could make sense of it, the car door on his side suddenly clicked open.

She blinked and watched as Jiangxia stepped out of the car.

—

Vermouth rested her elbow lazily on the windowsill, her tone casual. "Where are you going?"

Originally, Jiangxia had planned to leave her behind and go investigate alone.

But sensing the elite-grade aura of killing intent radiating from her, he reconsidered. "Just checking the school. Maybe they got held up."

He closed the car door, circled around to the side—not the front gate—and aimed for the wall. If nothing was going on, he'd drag the kids out and go watch a movie. If something was going on, he'd handle it first, then drag the kids out and still go watch a movie.

Win-win.

—

Jiangxia quickly found an isolated corner, jumped, grabbed the top of the wall, and flipped over with ease.

Just as he landed, another hand appeared over the edge behind him.

"Amuro Tooru" had also hopped the wall and landed lightly beside him.

Straightening up, she glanced around at the playground equipment nearby, then at the dimly lit school building not far away. "Which way?"

Jiangxia moved toward the building closest to the main gate, leading her toward the side entrance.

Jiangxia Tongzhi had, after all, graduated from Teitan Elementary. About a year ago, while lying in the hospital with nothing better to do, Jiangxia had analyzed Tongzhi's lingering memories and was now reasonably familiar with the school layout.

Only reasonably—not because Jiangxia had a poor memory, but because Brother Tongzhi had been a professional class-skipper since childhood. His elementary school recollections were… patchy at best.

Vermouth followed with a serene expression and an oddly buoyant step—like a parent on a field trip chaperoning a rowdy group of elementary kids.

"…" Jiangxia glanced at her reflection in a ground-floor window.

The boss's gravitas was on the verge of being ruined by Vermouth's field trip mom vibe.

Come to think of it, if Amuro Tooru ever found out Vermouth was impersonating him and wandering the streets…

Would he develop killing intent?

It was a serious risk. Given how often undercover agents interacted with subordinates, and the average IQ of said subordinates, if one of them spotted "Amuro Tooru" and ran up to greet him mid-disguise…

The Organization might lose yet another bottle of fake liquor.

Jiangxia made a mental note to remind the boss later.

…But not yet. First, he should squeeze a little more killing intent out of Vermouth.

—

Inside the school building.

Pale moonlight poured through wide windows, casting shadows across the narrow corridor, about two meters wide and eerily silent.

Soft footfalls echoed faintly as the Junior Detective League crept along, goosebumps prickling their arms. None of them spoke now.

Not because of fear. Well, not just fear.

They were facing a difficult internal struggle.

—Except for Conan, the other three were, by silent consensus, now picturing Jiangxia.

A dilemma weighed on them: should they rush out and call for help, or try to handle this mystery on their own?

If they went to find Jiangxia, they'd be safe. No doubt about that. He'd show up, toss the suspect like laundry, and smack them into a ragged pulp before asking questions.

But what if… what if, after finishing off the culprit, Jiangxia suddenly remembered the three mischievous children who'd stood him up and made him wait at the school gate all night?

The kids shivered in unison.

Maybe… maybe it was better to take a look first. With luck, the culprit wasn't even here tonight, and they could just investigate the traces he'd left behind—quietly, invisibly, without triggering any Jiangxia-related consequences.

Conan, meanwhile, wasn't worried about any of that. He was already deep in detective mode.

According to Ayumi, the school had been buzzing with strange rumors lately.

One in particular stood out—something that had happened last week.

A little girl had entered the art room and immediately sensed something was… off.

She couldn't put her finger on it until she turned to leave, and suddenly, her scalp prickled with cold dread.

All the plaster statues were staring at her.

Blank, lifeless white eyes fixed on her—unmoving, yet full of presence.

It was like they were alive. Thinking. Watching.

The girl, overwhelmed by the pressure of eight cold stares, fled in terror.

But she was a true young scientist, curious and stubborn. After escaping the room, she couldn't stop thinking about what she'd seen.

Statues couldn't move on their own… right?

Maybe the staring had just been a coincidence.

So before school ended that same day, she returned to the art room and marked all the statues and their desks with discreet chalk lines.

The next morning, she came back to check.

All eight statues had moved.

The marks proved it—none of them were where she'd left them.

She stared at the evidence, her worldview shattering with an audible crack. That very day, she fell ill from fright and hadn't returned to school since.

And thus, she became a ghost story in her own right.

Conan tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Let's start with the art room."

—

*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.

Progress: 17/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.

Progress:3/10*