"Alright, Gin." Qianben Xixi admitted she was indeed doing it on purpose. Now that she remembered Sherry was Ai Haibara, how could she really stand by and watch Gin go through with the killing?
Truth be told, she didn’t want to mess with her superior on purpose either, but she was in a tough spot. If she had known she was part of the Black Side, she wouldn’t have gotten involved with the Red Side in the first place.
She had no psychological barriers when it came to killing. But killing someone she knew, or even a friend… well, she and that brat Conan could barely be considered friends.
Her superior was a representative of the Black Side, while her friend represented the Red Side. What if one day Gin ordered her to blow Conan’s head off? How would she choose? Ugh, this was just too difficult… The thought alone made her want to pull her hair out.
Take now, for example. Even though she knew Haibara wouldn’t die here, she was still worried that her own actions might cause some unforeseen change, which wouldn’t be good.
But sometimes things just didn’t go as planned. On the snow-covered rooftop, Qianben Xixi clearly saw through her scope that the door behind Gin and Vodka had quietly cracked open, and a small figure peeked out from behind it.
Qianben Xixi focused her gaze and nearly cursed out loud—wasn’t that Conan, who had told her he was attending a club activity?!
Great, just when she feared something, it happened.
But then again, who else would come to rescue Haibara if not Conan?
So, the key question now was… should she tell Gin about the ambush? If she did, Conan and Haibara would be in danger, which was the last thing she wanted. But if she didn’t, and Gin had ordered her to stay alert, failing to warn him would directly expose the fact that she knew the intruder.
Ugh, what a hassle. That brat Conan really knew how to put her in a tough spot…
After only a moment of hesitation, Conan, hiding in a distant corner, had already raised his anesthetic watch and aimed it at Gin.
Qianben Xixi made her decision. The moment Conan fired the dart, she pulled the trigger.
Instantly, the bullet traveled over eight hundred yards, grazing Conan’s scalp and taking off a small tuft of his unruly hair.
Damn it! A sniper?! How was that possible? The nearest sniper position was over seven hundred meters away, and it was nighttime with heavy snowfall. This was absolutely insane!
Conan broke into a cold sweat instantly, ducking behind the door and gasping for breath.
"Boss! Boss, what’s wrong?!" Vodka suddenly shouted in panic from the other side of the door.
"Kill… kill Sherry." Whether he was speaking to Qianben Xixi through the earpiece or giving orders to Vodka, Gin suddenly fell to his knees, his voice hoarse as if fighting the effects of the anesthesia.
Well, at least Conan felt a little relieved—he had managed to hit Gin. Originally, he had aimed for the arm, but because of the sniper’s interference, his hand had jerked, and the anesthetic dart had ended up hitting Gin in the neck by sheer luck.
It wasn’t all bad, Conan thought as he risked a glance outside. That guy Vodka had knocked Haibara down the chimney—he hoped she was okay. Conan quickly seized the opportunity to head downstairs and rescue her.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Vodka felt nervous for the first time because his boss seemed to be fading fast.
Conan’s anesthetic dart had struck Gin directly in the neck, and the drug was rapidly spreading through his body.
"Boss, boss, wake up, boss!" Vodka frantically shook Gin’s head.
"Shut up." Gin felt even dizzier from being shaken so violently by Vodka. He bit down hard on his tongue to maintain a sliver of clarity, then raised his gun and fired a shot into his own arm.
Intense pain instantly surged through him. Gin grunted in agony, but he finally regained much of his alertness.
"Let's go, we need to take out Pisco first," Gin gritted his teeth as he stood up, giving the order to Vodka. He then quickly spoke into his earpiece, "Asti, keep an eye on Room 404 downstairs for me."
"No problem." Qianben Xixi had also witnessed Gin shooting himself just now and couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement. Her boss was truly ruthless to himself. She had been worried that her intervention might have screwed Gin over badly.
Qianben Xixi once again shifted her rifle, aiming it at the window of Room 404 downstairs.
She had overheard Gin and Vodka's conversation through the earpiece and knew that Pisco was the main operative for this assassination mission. Now, due to his own mistake, he was also about to be eliminated.
She just hadn't expected her boss to drag his injured body along to personally take out the target. Such dedication was truly admirable.
Through her scope, Qianben Xixi could clearly see Pisco inside the room, holding a gun and confronting Conan.
So slow. Gin is about to head down, and it's still not over? Qianben Xixi decided to give Conan a hand.
Near the window in the room was a crate of high-proof liquor, and Pisco happened to be standing right beside it. Qianben Xixi curled her lips into a smirk and, without a second thought, aimed and pulled the trigger twice in quick succession.
The bullets tore through the night, shattering the window. The first shot broke the liquor barrel, spilling alcohol all over the floor. The second shot struck right at Pisco's feet, instantly igniting the alcohol on the ground. Flames surged like a giant dragon, licking at Pisco's pant legs and threatening to engulf him in the blink of an eye.
Startled by the sudden turn of events, Pisco dropped his cigarette onto the floor, fueling the flames even more.
He hurriedly stripped off his clothes and pants, trying to shake off the flames.
Conan, who had been watching the scene unfold inside the room, was utterly stunned. Before he could even devise a plan to make Pisco break the liquor barrel and ignite himself with his own cigarette, someone had already executed the idea for him—and it was the Sniper!
Was this infighting among the enemy? No time to dwell on it. Conan quickly hoisted Ai Haibara onto his back and fled the dangerous scene.
…
"Gin, how did you get injured?" In the back seat of the Porsche 356A, Vermouth touched up her makeup while teasingly glancing at Gin beside her. "What a rare sight."
Gin snorted coldly but said nothing. It wasn't that he didn't want to retort, but he was still struggling against the effects of the anesthetic in his system, barely managing to stay conscious.
"Tsk, tsk~" Vermouth laughed even more gleefully, though she didn't press the mockery further. After all, the man was truly petty. Instead, she changed the subject. "So this is Asti? She really is a beauty. What a shame she's dressed exactly like Gin—how boring."
Vermouth's sharp eyes had immediately noticed the identical black trench coat the other woman was wearing.
Do you think I want to dress like this? But Qianben Xixi didn't dare say that out loud. Sitting in the passenger seat, she could feel Gin's dangerous and displeased gaze fixed on her with just a slight turn of her head.
She felt she could still explain herself. So she took the initiative to speak up: "That person appeared too quickly. I could only shoot first and didn't have time to warn you."
"Shut up." Gin glared at her upon hearing this. Of course, he knew today's incident couldn't be blamed on Asti, but getting injured made him feel humiliated, so he didn't want to discuss the topic—especially with a certain someone nearby.
"Oh? Was the one who ambushed you the man who rescued Sherry?" Vermouth instantly became interested. "What did he look like?"
Gin gave her a cold glance, closed his eyes to rest, and made it clear he didn't want to talk.
"He was quite handsome," Qianben Xixi chimed in, joining Vermouth's conversation. "The sunny, good-looking type."
"Oh? How would you compare him to Gin?" Vermouth was clearly stirring up trouble without caring about the consequences.
Qianben Xixi:…
Was this older sister definitely trying to set her up?
Sorry, but this trick wouldn't work on her. With shameless audacity, she flattered her superior: "He definitely can't compare to Gin. Sherry's taste isn't great."
"Exactly, Big Brother is definitely more handsome!" Vodka, who was driving, didn't forget to chime in. "Big Brother is very popular with women!"
Vermouth immediately burst into laughter, trembling with amusement.
"Shut up, both of you." Gin felt even the anesthesia couldn't suppress his current anger.