Seeing that Vermouth was unreliable, Qianben Xixi felt she had to step in and help Conan herself.
Somehow, Vermouth kept glancing her way—did she really think her big eyes could talk? How was anyone supposed to understand what she meant just from her gaze?
"You little brat…" The robber still had his gun pressed menacingly against Conan's head, clearly unhappy that this kid showed no fear at all. It made him feel his dignity had been challenged again, leaving him utterly humiliated.
"Look, if you're robbing people, just rob them. Why keep picking on a kid? He doesn't have any money," Qianben Xixi sighed. "It's normal for kids to be mischievous. Is there something in that ski bag you don't want anyone to see? What's the harm in him playing with it? He's loved zippers since he was little—anything with a zipper, he just has to pull it open. He's just a curious kid. Right, Conan?"
Conan: …
"Mm-hmm~" Knowing Qianben Xixi was helping him, Conan could only play along and act cute. "I'm just really interested in things with zippers~ I don't know why you're being so mean, mister~"
"Yeah, yeah, you're scaring the kid half to tears," Qianben Xixi continued, turning back to the robber. "Look, that lady over there is getting robbed, but she's still blowing bubblegum without a care in the world—blowing it on her left cheek, then her right cheek. She's showing you robbers zero respect, and you're not even bothering with her. Instead, you're just picking on a kid. Do you think kids are easy to bully, but adults aren't?"
As soon as she finished, everyone turned to look at the lady sitting by the window in the back right row.
Sure enough, the bubblegum was still stuck to her face, not fully pulled off yet. She was leisurely tugging at it and popping it back into her mouth.
She really was too relaxed. Everyone else was terrified, but she was just sitting there blowing bubbles like nothing was wrong.
At that moment, a lightbulb went off in Conan's mind. He finally understood—now he knew how the robber was gathering information.
The next second, his sharp gaze behind his glasses swept toward the bubblegum-blowing lady diagonally behind him.
She stiffened for a moment before forcing an awkward smile and explaining, "Um, I—I chew bubblegum when I'm nervous… So I—I didn't mean to disrespect the robbers, uh, heh heh…"
Her explanation was weak and unconvincing, making Conan even more certain of his suspicion. It was definitely her—the third robber on the bus was this bubblegum-chewing lady!
Damn it, it seemed like someone had beaten him to it again. Conan couldn't help but glance at Qianben Xixi beside him. She must have said all that on purpose.
For example, when she asked if there was something in the ski bag that shouldn't be seen—that was because she knew the ski bag contained a bomb.
Then she pointed out how the lady next to her kept blowing bubblegum and acting arrogantly, asking why the robber wasn't doing anything about it. Clearly, she had already noticed something off about that woman and was subtly hinting at it while provoking the robber.
Yes, that had to be it.
Just as Conan suspected, the robber, feeling guilty after being called out, no longer dared to focus on him, the kid. He just glared fiercely at Conan, told him to sit still, and then quickly turned and walked away.
"Ah…!" Perhaps walking too quickly, the robber didn't watch his step and was directly tripped by Jodie's long leg, falling face-first toward the ground.
"Oh! I'm sorry~" Jodie continued speaking in Japanese-accented English, running over apologetically to help the robber up, then hugging the gun in his hands as she apologized again.
This robber was really adorably foolish, not even realizing his gun had been secretly locked by the other party. Qianben Xixi watched silently, occasionally muttering a few comments.
She guessed both the other party and the Shuichi Akai beside her were FBI. Through her earlier observations and combined with some memory fragments of the plot, she had already roughly figured out the general situation and direction.
Vermouth had returned to Japan for an extended stay because of Kudo Shinichi—her Cool Guy—shrinking, disguising herself as Dr. Araide to conveniently get close to him and Ran, while also investigating Sherry's disappearance.
Since she knew Conan was Kudo Shinichi shrunk, Vermouth probably now also knew Sherry had escaped by shrinking and was somewhere near Mihana Town…
Thinking of this, Qianben Xixi glanced at the seat in front of her. No wonder Ai Haibara had been huddled in her seat wearing her hoodie, not daring to move at all since Vermouth boarded the bus.
Although Vermouth deeply cherished her Cool Guy and Angel, she was not friendly toward Sherry. She genuinely wanted to kill her…
Perhaps she already had plans and schemes, just one step away from capturing Sherry, luring her out, and killing her. Of course, the FBI was also involved—Vermouth might be aiming to kill two birds with one stone.
Tsk tsk, impressive indeed, truly worthy of being Vermouth, deeply trusted by the Boss in the Organization.
But… Qianben Xixi looked at the man beside her. No matter how capable she was, as long as Conan and Shuichi Akai were around, she would ultimately fail.
Shuichi Akai happened to turn his head at that moment to observe his surroundings, and their eyes met directly.
Qianben Xixi showed no embarrassment, generously offering a polite smile. But inwardly, she was thinking that perhaps someday her superior would order her to snipe him.
She remembered Shuichi Akai was also an excellent sniper, probably the best in the Kexue World. If the two of them ever faced off… just thinking about it was thrilling.
Qianben Xixi subconsciously licked her lips, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned in a rather pleased expression. This made Shuichi Akai beside her even more puzzled, so he could only nod at her and look away.
In his eyes, this person's behavior was becoming increasingly strange. Although she appeared to be an ordinary, beautiful college student, his intuition told him she was not simple.
For example, just now, it was obvious she had also noticed the robber's intentions—that alone was quite remarkable.
Ten minutes later, the bus finally arrived at the location agreed upon with the police for dropping the ransom: the entrance of a long tunnel, where two large blue bags were placed.
The robber told the driver to slow down and open the door. One of them reached outside, directly grabbing the two bags and bringing them into the bus.
With the ransom secured, the other end of the headset also received the message that their boss had successfully withdrawn from the jewelry store. It was time to wrap things up.
"You, come out!" The robber glanced at the back row, pointing his gun at Shuichi Akai and ordering. As he scanned the surroundings, he then pointed at Shin'ichi Shinobu, who was impersonated by Vermouth. "You too, get out here, hurry!"
Tsk, what a choice. Qianben Xixi thought with amusement.
But right now, these two were probably the only ones with a similar build to the robbers.
They wanted two scapegoats to die in their place. Then, as the sole survivors, they could escape smoothly.
Had to admit, the plan was quite professional. Too bad the robbers' luck was just too poor—they'd hijacked a bus full of big shots. Even their selection of people was spot-on.
"Wait, you go back first!" Another robber suddenly voiced a different opinion, pointing at Vermouth to make her return, then pointing at Qianben Xixi in the back row. "Let this woman come out!"
Qianben Xixi, who had been watching the live stream and enjoying the drama: …
"Yeah, you! Hurry up and come out!" The robber said impatiently. "Weren't you two all lovey-dovey, whispering to each other? I'm giving you the chance now!"
"Wait, third brother, she's a woman."
"It's fine, second brother. The police have only heard your voice. We can just say the robbers were a man and a woman."
The two robbers whispered a few words, reaching an agreement.
"You two, put on these ski suits and kneel on the ground!" The robber pointed his gun at Qianben Xixi and Shuichi Akai, then tossed the ski suits, glasses, and hats he had taken off onto the floor. "Hurry up, don't dawdle!"
Qianben Xixi: …
Never expected to get caught up in the drama herself. She watched as Shuichi Akai beside her quickly started putting on the ski suit from the floor, removing his mask, putting on the ski cap and goggles, and finally obediently kneeling on the ground. She was speechless.
Why had the plot come to this… Who was she, where was she? She really didn't want to wear that robber's dirty ski suit, let alone kneel.
She truly didn't understand how Shuichi Akai and Vermouth could endure such humiliation just to keep up their act. But she really couldn't do it.
"You! Why aren't you changing yet? Hurry up!" The bus was about to pass through the dim tunnel. If they didn't change clothes soon, their plan would fall apart.
The robber grew anxious, pointing the gun at her head and shouting, "Hurry up! Or I'll just kill you and dress you myself!"
"Sister Natsuya…!" Seeing the robber about to pull the trigger, Ayumi and Conan in the bus grew frantic.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on her, even Shuichi Akai, kneeling on the ground, wanted to see what she planned to do. He was genuinely curious.
"Sorry…" Qianben Xixi said awkwardly, "I'm not used to wearing other people's clothes. How about you let that bespectacled guy from earlier do it instead…"
The bespectacled guy Shinobu·Vermouth·Shin'ichi: …
You're not used to it, but I am? Vermouth narrowed her eyes, already planning to report this to Gin later.
"Hmph, don't try any tricks!" The robber sneered. "Change now! Or else…"
Just as he was about to add more threats, the bus suddenly slammed on the brakes, throwing everyone off balance and onto the floor.
After skidding sideways for a distance, the bus finally screeched to a halt at the tunnel exit.
"Finally made it." Conan breathed a sigh of relief. He had just thought quickly on his feet, asking Ms. Jodie for lipstick to write on the outside of the ski bag, using the rearview mirror to signal the driver to brake. Unexpectedly, it worked surprisingly well.
"Ahhh, no, my watch stopped!" The accomplice who had been chewing gum suddenly screamed. "It's going to explode! Thirty seconds left, let me off the bus!!"
What was going on? Everyone had just gotten up from the floor and hadn't yet recovered.
"My watch is the bomb trigger! It accidentally got damaged just now, and the bomb timer started automatically! Let me off the bus!" As soon as her panicked voice fell, everyone who understood the situation scrambled out of the bus in a chaotic rush.
"Ah, it's finally over." Qianben Xixi felt a momentary sense of relief.
After everyone had fled the bus, she silently picked up the two bags containing five hundred million yen in cash, as well as the bag of belongings confiscated by the robbers—inside lay her phone. It would be such a shame if it got blown up.
Carrying three bags, Qianben Xixi was the last to step off the bus.
With less than ten seconds left before the explosion, she had only taken a few steps when she saw Conan, who had already run far away, come rushing back.
"Why are you…" Qianben Xixi started to ask, but he shouted anxiously, "Haibara is still on the bus!"
Qianben Xixi: …
"I see. You go back first." She threw the three bags she was holding to Conan. "Keep an eye on them for me."
Without looking back, Qianben Xixi turned and ran back toward the bus. Under Conan's stunned gaze, she leaped into the air, kicked through the window glass from the outside, and jumped inside.
Ai Haibara sat in her seat, her heart calm.
She knew she would eventually be discovered by Vermouth. To avoid implicating those around her, she chose to end her life this way, putting an end to everything.
"Let it be like this…" she murmured softly.
"Like what?" Qianben Xixi looked at her somewhat speechlessly. Without waiting for a response, ignoring Haibara's shocked expression, she scooped her up horizontally and jumped out through the broken window.
Just as the two flew away from the window, a deafening explosion erupted inside the bus. The shockwave blasted outward, sending them tumbling heavily to the ground.
Qianben Xixi, holding Haibara, landed somewhat disheveled and covered in dust, but fortunately, neither was injured.
"Are you okay?" Conan approached, his heart still pounding.
"I'm fine." Qianben Xixi shook her head. "Why are you looking at me like that? Scared silly?"
Conan: …
He was just shocked, never expecting her to be so skilled—no less capable than Ran! Perhaps even a bit more formidable!
Not only him, but even Shuichi Akai, who had been secretly observing from a distance, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
His intuition was right… her skills were no ordinary matter.
…
That evening, at a bar in Mihana Town.
Gin took a sip of the drink beside him. "Why did you suddenly call me here?"
Beside him, Vermouth, having returned to her original appearance, didn't answer. Instead, she smiled and asked the bartender for an Asti.
Gin narrowed his eyes, glancing at the drink in her hand, and spoke in a cold voice, "What exactly are you trying to say? I don't have the patience for your riddles, Vermouth."
"Oh, I just wanted to ask…" Vermouth seemed accustomed to Gin's consistently brusque tone and didn't take offense. Instead, she leaned close to his ear and inquired curiously, "Did you know that your new subordinate knows Shuichi Akai?"
"What do you mean?" Gin's expression grew even colder.
"Nothing else, don't get worked up." Vermouth chuckled mischievously. "I just happened to run into them—she seemed quite interested in him~ Did you know about this?"
"Oh, you didn't know." Vermouth watched Gin's face darken further and laughed gleefully. "No other meaning, I was just showing some concern."
"Get lost." Gin's voice now carried an icy chill. "My subordinates don't need your concern."