Chapter 135: Bargaining Chip to Rescue My Sister
Because of the car incident, Natsukawa's return trip to Tokyo was delayed by several hours, and he didn't arrive back until the afternoon.
After dropping off Anya and Yor, Natsukawa rushed straight to Shirahata Pharmaceutical.
Sherry's matter could actually be handled with a simple phone call, but Natsukawa still wanted to take this opportunity to see her in person. He genuinely wanted to see Sherry before she shrank.
To clarify beforehand—he was simply curious, not being fickle or wishy-washy.
Sherry's research lab was located in the deepest section of the second basement level of Shirahata Pharmaceutical.
Entering her territory required multiple layers of security verification.
After all, it was Karasuma Renya's most valued project, so this level of security was only natural.
However, this made Sherry's situation somewhat pitiful. She spent most of her time conducting research, and during her free time, she basically couldn't go anywhere. If she wanted to see scenery, she could only stare blankly at the flat images displayed outside the fake windows.
It was absurd that the most humane feature in the entire research lab was a fake window with fake scenery printed on it.
The fake windows were the same size as normal windows, and the fake scenery consisted of enlarged photographs printed as flat images.
Natsukawa remembered seeing something similar when he'd watched Resident Evil in his previous life.
Walking through the research lab, Natsukawa noticed that all the researchers were extremely focused—his entrance didn't even cause a stir.
Everyone was diligently working on their assigned tasks.
He quickly located Sherry.
Most of the researchers were over thirty years old, so a seventeen-year-old girl with short, auburn hair stood out prominently among them.
"Tequila, how did it go?" Sherry couldn't help but ask as soon as she spotted Natsukawa.
Natsukawa hadn't replied after hanging up last night, and she'd assumed her application hadn't been approved. She'd been planning to call again tonight, but Tequila had actually come in person.
She really did have something extremely important to investigate on this outing.
A few days ago, Sherry had discovered something terrifying in a newspaper.
She'd discovered that among those who'd been given APTX-4869 by Gin, one person might not have died.
Not only had this person not died, but they might have successfully achieved her ultimate research goal—reversing the flow of time!
The newspaper article was related to the recently famous Kogoro Mouri.
She'd noticed a little boy accompanying Kogoro Mouri who looked almost exactly like Shinichi Kudo as a child.
Combining the timing of Shinichi Kudo taking the drug with the timing of Kogoro Mouri's rise to fame, she was astonished to discover a perfect timeline.
After Shinichi Kudo took the drug, a little boy named Conan Edogawa appeared beside Kogoro Mouri! Then the Kogoro Mouri who used to search for cats, dogs, and cheating spouses transformed into the Sleeping Kogoro—the famous detective!
This made her deeply suspicious.
Although APTX-4869 had consistently failed in its intended purpose, there had been instances of accidental success. A lab mouse had even reverted from an adult to a juvenile after one experiment. That's why she'd connected Conan Edogawa with Shinichi Kudo.
However, because Conan Edogawa wore glasses, she wasn't entirely certain.
Therefore, she needed to visit the Kudo residence to investigate.
She needed to find more childhood photos of Shinichi Kudo and compare them with Conan.
Ideally, she'd find some hair samples, fingerprints, or skin cells—that would basically confirm his identity!
However, she didn't plan to tell anyone about this discovery. Not yet, at least.
Her sister seemed to be in danger, and this information was a crucial bargaining chip. Gin had always used APTX-4869 as an untraceable poison. She wanted to use this chip to secure her sister's safety.
As for leaving the Organization...
Sherry had never seriously considered its feasibility. Given her own value and the importance of the drug research, she knew she'd never have the chance to sever ties with the Organization.
However, her sister might be able to!
"I've already discussed it with Gin. He'll arrange for someone to escort you out within the next few days, but only to areas near Shirahata Pharmaceutical. Considering the extreme danger outside, I hope you can understand the restrictions."
Sherry rolled her eyes internally. What danger? Doesn't Tequila have any sense of proportion?
If it's near Shirahata Pharmaceutical, she wondered if the Kudo residence would count. The Kudo house in Beika Town 2-chome wasn't far from Shirahata Pharmaceutical at all.
"The restricted area includes both Beika Town and Beika City. Originally, Gin only approved Beika Town. I had to use considerable persuasion to get Beika City included as well, so remember to thank me later."
Natsukawa gave an enigmatic smile that made Sherry's hair stand on end. There seemed to be a deeper meaning behind those words.
Had she been discovered?
Was he really helping to expand her range, or did Tequila already know that her target was actually Beika Town? Or perhaps—did he already know that her target was specifically the Kudo residence in Beika Town 2-chome?
Damn it! Who is this guy? That ambiguous smile is really unsettling!
Sherry had a sinking feeling her plan had been completely seen through. She awkwardly changed the subject: "What's my sister been up to lately? If possible, I'd like to meet her before she goes on her next mission."
"Nine to five office hours—life couldn't be better for her. But every time I see her, she seems depressed. I don't know if it's because she's worried about you, or if she's pining over some man."
"Hmph!" Sherry's face flushed red. Tequila's words seemed to be mocking her sister. The man he was referring to was definitely that bastard Shuichi Akai.
If it weren't for Shuichi Akai, she and her sister wouldn't be in this situation, where even meeting each other had become such a monumental challenge.
"Okay, don't get angry. You just haven't fallen for anyone yet. Who can predict matters of the heart? Being lovestruck runs in families. Your sister has it, so there's a high probability you'll have it too."
"Lovestruck?"
This was the first time Sherry had heard this term, but it was surprisingly accurate. Her sister did seem to be that type of person.
When she falls in love, she forgets everything else. Having been with Shuichi Akai for so long, Sherry couldn't believe her sister had been completely oblivious.
Her sister must have noticed some of Shuichi's secrets, but she hadn't reported anything to Gin until after Shuichi's cover was blown.
Actually, not reporting to Gin wasn't the worst part. The most important thing was—her own sister hadn't even told her!
That was what infuriated her the most.
They'd promised to be each other's angels, but then her sister turned around and was all lovey-dovey with some guy.
"So, can I meet my sister?"
Sherry steered the conversation back on track. She'd almost gotten sidetracked—they hadn't been talking about being lovestruck or Shuichi Akai.
"I think you can, but it'll take some time to arrange."
"How long?"
"Don't worry. I'll arrange for you two to meet before her next mission starts. That way, she'll be more focused on serving the Organization afterward. Come to think of it, you two sisters really are polar opposites."
Sherry looked puzzled. What did he mean by that? She didn't understand.
"One's responsible for making money, the other for burning through it. It's just that your sister's money-making speed is far too slow—it can't keep up with your money-burning rate at all."
Sherry rolled her eyes. What's wrong with that?
Scientific research—what's the point of research if you don't spend money?
Haven't you seen that research projects in America are measured in the hundreds of millions? The Organization's current funding is actually quite poor by comparison!
If Gin hadn't suddenly run out of money recently, the development progress of APTX-4869 would have accelerated considerably.
They can't come up with adequate funding but keep constantly pushing for faster progress—what a poor Organization!
(End of Chapter)
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