Chapter 21: All Is Lost

"You had better not be lying to me. If this intelligence is fake, I will never let you off easily." After taking the suitcase, Sawa Matsumoto could not help but issue a harsh threat.

Facing her threat, the fake Gin sneered, "If this intelligence is fake, President Matsumoto, you are welcome to come find us for trouble."

*Provided you live to see tomorrow!*

Sawa Matsumoto did not know the fake Gin's true thoughts. Seeing how readily he spoke, she felt a sense of relief, believing that the case truly contained genuine intelligence. After all, Sawa Matsumoto was not someone to be trifled with; if the fake Gin dared to deceive her, she could simply post a bounty on the black market later to have assassins hunt the two of them down.

"Let's go."

Seeing that Sawa Matsumoto had taken the bait, the fake Gin sneered inwardly and stood up to leave, followed by the fake Vodka, who was clutching the suitcase.

"Bang!"

The moment the fake Vodka stepped out of the dining car, a fist suddenly loomed large in his vision, striking his eye socket with lightning speed. Before the fake Vodka could steady himself, Aizen suddenly grabbed his arms, yanked him forward, and delivered a powerful knee strike.

"Crack!"

Accompanied by a sickening sound of pulverizing impact, the fake Vodka instantly lost his ability to fight and collapsed, fainting from the agony on the spot.

"Baka..."

Seeing this, the fake Gin instinctively reached for the M9 pistol in his coat, preparing to fire at Aizen.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Before the fake Gin could pull the trigger, Aizen’s right leg lashed out like an iron whip, snapping the man's wrist. Following this, he lunged forward, his fists raining down on the man's chest with the speed and ferocity of a storm. When Haruaki Suzuki had forged the Aizen avatar, he had set its strength and speed to the maximum of ten points. With the addition of "Master-level Karate," these attributes temporarily surged by another five points, resulting in a force far beyond what the fake Gin could withstand.

*Crack, crack...*

Several of the fake Gin's ribs shattered instantly. Before he could even attempt a counterattack, he was pummeled into unconsciousness by Aizen.

Having dealt with the two impostors, Aizen searched them and retrieved two M9 pistols along with two spare magazines full of ammunition.

Ignoring the terrified expressions of the other passengers in the dining car, Aizen calmly tucked his spoils into his clothes. He walked up to the frightened Sawa Matsumoto, pointed to the black case in her hands, and revealed a gentle, kind smile. "My beautiful lady, would you mind giving me the case you are holding?"

Although Aizen’s smile was tender, coupled with the wretched state of the fake Vodka and Gin, Sawa Matsumoto dared not defy him and tremblingly handed over the case.

"Thank you."

After taking the black suitcase, Aizen suddenly exerted force with both hands, grabbed the handle, spun halfway around, and threw the suitcase out of the window with the technique of a hammer thrower.

"BOOM!!!"

In Sawa Matsumoto's terrified gaze, the moment the suitcase hit the ground, it exploded into a massive fireball. The violent shockwave shattered the train's windows, and the entire train soon engaged its emergency braking mechanism, forcing it to a halt.

(ΩДΩ)

Sawa Matsumoto’s face turned deathly pale; she was nearly frightened into losing control of her bladder. If Aizen had not thrown the suitcase away, she likely wouldn't even have known how she died.

"My apologies, beautiful lady, for giving you such a fright."

Even though the aftermath of the explosion made his haori flutter violently, Aizen remained calm. He took Sawa Matsumoto's right hand and bowed to kiss the back of it lightly.

"Ding! Congratulations on successfully checking in with Sawa Matsumoto. Reward: +1 Stamina. The host may claim it at any time."

⁄(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)⁄

Looking at Aizen's handsome and gentle face, Sawa Matsumoto’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but ask, "Who... who exactly are you?"

"You may call me—The Grim Reaper!"

Aizen offered a meaningful smile, let go of her hand, and departed the dining car with leisurely, unhurried steps.

As Haruaki Suzuki controlled Aizen into an empty restroom, he first used his storage ring to tuck away the two M9 pistols and the magazines, then recalled both Aizen and the ring back into the system space. Aizen's true form was an avatar doll, which, like the storage ring, was a system-generated item that could be directly stored in the system space.

While Haruaki Suzuki controlled the avatar, he needed to channel his mental energy into it, creating an invisible thread of consciousness between his true self and the avatar. As long as the straight-line distance between them did not exceed the ten-kilometer maximum range, Haruaki Suzuki could retrieve the avatar remotely. As for the storage ring, it had been given to Aizen beforehand specifically to facilitate the collection of loot like the pistols. After all, if the fake Gin and his partner dared to bomb a Shinkansen train, it was only natural they would carry a few pistols for self-defense.

Shortly after the Shinkansen train stopped, the police arrived in a hurry, took control of Sawa Matsumoto and the fake Gin and Vodka, and brought them all to the police station for investigation. From the testimonies of the witnesses, the police learned of Aizen's existence, but after searching the entire train, they could not find the man in the black kimono and white haori, and the matter was eventually left unresolved.

By the time the police finished investigating the bombing, it was already dark. Kogoro Mouri and his group naturally missed their friend's wedding, and the trip to Kyoto that the children had been looking forward to fell through as well. Then again, Kogoro Mouri's friend was quite lucky; otherwise, if Conan, the "Grim Reaper," had been present, a joyous occasion might have turned into a funeral.

...

In a certain secret base:

Seeing Gin hang up a phone call with a darkened expression, Vodka couldn't help asking with concern, "Brother, did something happen?"

"The No. 2 team was captured." Gin exhaled a plume of smoke, his expression looking exceptionally grim through the haze.

"What?! Was it the Public Security Bureau, or was it the FBI..."

Vodka's expression shifted drastically. The few avatars they had cultivated were meant to be decoys to lure out enemies at critical moments. If they had been sacrificed as decoys while executing a plan, Vodka wouldn't have been so surprised. But since Gin and the others had no recent operations requiring decoys, the sudden capture of the No. 2 team made Vodka suspect that someone was actively targeting him and his brother.