Conan: Begins to collaborate with Miss Bayonetta and become famous

Chapter 838 Rum's Defection, the Distillery's Biggest Crisis

"Vermouth..." Baijiu looked at the back of his hand covered with needles, his voice slightly hoarse, "...I'm sorry."

“No…” Vermouth stretched out her fingers and gently pressed them against his cracked lips, feeling the warmth at her fingertips.

Her voice was as gentle as the wind, carrying a soothing force: "You don't need to apologize... You've done well enough."

"Hey!" Macallan clenched his fists and wailed unwillingly, "When can I have a romantic relationship?"

After saying that, he lowered his head and left the tent in a huff, full of "single dog's resentment".

Lao Hei looked at the two people leaning on each other on the hospital bed, and a relieved smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of his mouth. Then he retreated quietly.

Outside the tent, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the sky a warm orange. He reached for his pocket out of habit, and just as his fingertips touched the cigarette case—

"despair."

A slender cigarette was precisely placed between his fingers.

Lao Hei looked up and saw Qiao Na standing in front of him with a familiar, slightly teasing smile on her face.

"You still love smoking." She said, and put another lighter into his hand, "Soft Seven Stars...are you still used to it?"

"This is the best cigarette I can borrow," Jonah added.

Lao Hei took the cigarette, paused for a few seconds, and then slowly lit it.

Taking a deep breath, the spicy smoke rushed into the lungs, bringing a long-lost, bitter comfort.

"I haven't smoked in a long time..." He muttered, looking into the distance, "Since that day... I rarely touch it."

"Really?" Joanna smoothed her wind-blown hair and cast her gaze towards the burning sky. "I don't believe it. It's better to ask an old smoker to quit than to ask..."

"Joanna." Lao Hei suddenly interrupted her, his voice low and solemn.

"Huh?" Joanna looked at him in confusion.

"I'm sorry." Lao Hei lowered his head and repeated, "...I'm sorry."

He paused, as if gathering his courage, his voice choked with suppressed sobs: "I'm really sorry... I apologize for everything that happened. I..."

"Stop!" Joanna interrupted him decisively, holding his weathered face, which was now full of self-blame, in her hands and forcing him to look directly at her, "Look at me!"

"Look at me!" Her voice was full of unquestionable power, fixing his gaze that was trying to avoid it.

"Look at my life." Joanna's voice softened, with a calmness that comes from having experienced many things. "I love my career... If I hadn't met you, I might never have realized this."

She took a deep breath, her eyes sparkling with light: "Everything that happened... made me realize who I am."

"It made me realize... the power I possess." Her voice trembled slightly, and her eyes were moist. "I... I am a survivor."

Lao Hei gently put down her hand and subconsciously took a step back, creating some distance: "But what happened here... was all caused by me... by us..."

"No!" Joanna corrected immediately, her tone firm, "Nothing happened! Because you are here!"

"I can sleep peacefully every night..." She stared into his eyes, very seriously, "because I know you are always protecting me."

Lao Hei's throat was churning, and he wanted to say something, but it was blocked by the surging sadness. He took a few deep breaths, and then asked the question with a choked voice: "...Are you...happy now?"

"Very happy." Joanna's tears finally rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm just like you..." She gave a tearful smile, "We both found our own destiny."

"Alright," Lao Hei seemed to be afraid of losing control, and turned to call McAllen who was not far away, "Let's get ready to go in."

"Hmm? Hmm?" McCarron looked confused. "You guys... don't want to continue chatting?"

Qiao Na looked at Lao Hei's slightly hurried back, a gentle arc curved at the corner of her mouth, and she muttered to herself: "If we continue talking... he will probably cry like a child..."

"Thank you... Lao Hei." She whispered softly, with a complex and deep sadness in her eyes. "Really... thank you."

Inside the tent.

"Oh... be gentle, be careful of my ribs." Baijiu frowned slightly, but his fingers gently stroked Vermouth's cheek.

“You know what?” Vermouth’s eyes were filled with undisguised admiration. “You look so handsome right now…”

"Please," Baijiu forced a smile and pinched her cheek, "Tell me something I don't know."

"Oh..." McAllen sighed exaggeratedly, "It really makes my teeth itch!"

"Love will always come," Baijiu comforted, his voice filled with the relief of someone who had just survived a disaster. "What you need is patience."

"Let's not talk about this sad topic!" McCarron quickly changed the subject and asked curiously, "How thrilling was that last moment?"

Baijiu looked nonchalant, as if describing a trivial matter: "It's just like usual, nothing difficult."

"Haha!" McAllen and Lao Hei looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

"Hahaha!" Vermouth also laughed heartily.

"As usual." The three said in unison.

"Please..." Baijiu also laughed, causing the wound to ache. "Please stop making me laugh..."

The tent curtain was suddenly thrown back, and a gust of cold wind rushed in. Minister Sloan walked in hurriedly, with an unmistakable aura of murderous intent.

"Knock, knock, knock!" She knocked on the tent stand symbolically and swept her sharp eyes over the crowd.

"I have something urgent to inform everyone." Sloan stood in front of Baijiu's bed, his voice cold and hard.

"Wait..." Baijiu interrupted her, his eyes sharpening, "I haven't asked you yet, what should we do with Ryan?"

Sloan tilted his head slightly, as if to compromise: "Let's talk about this first."

"Hey...what's so important? Can't we talk about it another day?" McAllen was extremely alert. The uneasiness in the air made him feel uneasy. "Let's catch up first..." He tried to force a smile.

"You, shut up." Sloan gave him a cold look.

"Okay." McAllen immediately covered his mouth and kept silent.

"Let's talk about Ryan first." Sloan spoke quickly. "At your request, Ryan will be escorted to the Japanese headquarters. The 'White Widow' will act as an intermediary for the handover. This is also part of our current agreement."

She paused, her eyes sweeping over the crowd. "After the Paris incident, the organization needs to keep a low profile. The organization needs the Baijiu Team, and the world needs the Baijiu Team, too."

Her gaze finally fell on Baijiu, with a hint of complex meaning: "Of course, we need people like you more - people who care about individuals as much as they care about millions of lives."

"Yeah." Baijiu nodded slightly, motioning her to continue.

"So..." Baijiu's brows were filled with confusion. "This sounds like the finale speech... What is this dire and urgent news you're talking about?"

Sloane took a deep breath, and the air in the tent seemed to freeze instantly. Her voice sank, yet it resonated like thunder in everyone's ears:

"Rum has rebelled."

"He killed Third Hand Champagne, stole the core artificial intelligence the organization was developing, and then... defected."

"At the same time, he has irrefutable evidence that 'that adult' has fallen into an infantile state."

"Everyone knows this situation and wants to be the king of their own. It's not an exaggeration to say that the organization has now formed into a separatist faction."

"Now, the entire organization has fallen apart, with a large number of members following Rum's lead and defecting...including your former colleague, Kiel."

Sloan's eyes swept across every shocked face, and he declared word by word:

"That is to say——"

“Not only are we facing the greatest crisis in our organization’s history…”

"We are also about to face ... the greatest crisis the world has ever seen."

As the words fell, the tent fell into a dead silence. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the slits in the curtains, illuminating the frozen shock and solemnity on everyone's faces.

Only the monotonous "tick-tick" sound of medical instruments seemed particularly harsh in the silence.

(Enter the final chapter.)