A Request from Kogoro Mouri

The first to speak was Jodie Starling, the FBI agent who was the first to have dealings with Jiang Hang and who had been responsible for monitoring Ran Mori.

In Japan, she used the identity of an English teacher at Beika High School. Her disguised name was related to the famous wine-producing region of "Saint-Timirio," which led Conan to suspect that she might have connections with the Black Organization.

She first met Jiang Hang during the case at the arcade, and then they met again during a bus robbery that occurred while she was searching for Vermouth.

If only considering their first meeting, Jodie Starling felt that the other person was just a famous detective with some background, nothing special.

But thinking about how the other person maintained a calm expression throughout their second encounter on the bus, as if they had never worried that the criminal would detonate a bomb and take everyone on the bus to heaven.

In the end, she and Shuichi Akai couldn't sit still any longer and stepped in to stop the thugs.

Because of this operation, they were likely exposed to Vermouth, and Shuichi Akai again went behind the scenes. As a result, she was also suspended from all investigative work and could only work as an English teacher at Beika High School to observe whether the Black Organization had any other moves.

Therefore, Jodie Starling always felt that there was something wrong with Jiang Hang, who was sitting in the car at the time.

Given their capabilities, they probably already realized the problems with those criminals. In addition, the information gathered by the FBI shows that after coming to Japan to become a detective, they have repeatedly defeated suspects who tried to escape or resist.

As a result, the other party remained silent until the very end, seemingly unconcerned about making a move.

As a result, after painstakingly tracking Vermouth to Japan, she can only remain undercover and cannot further investigate Vermouth's purpose.

If it weren't for the complicated background of Jiang Hang, the FBI would probably have already taken strong action against him.

However, Shuichi Akai's attitude towards Jiang Hang was quite different.

Since joining the Black Organization, he has been engaged in secret work. After escaping the organization, he has been working behind the scenes and underground to avoid retaliation.

Moreover, only those who have actually been in the organization can know how ruthless its style can be.

From the beginning, he didn't think that his small team could uproot the mysterious organization by just keeping an eye on Vermouth alone. It's just that the FBI agents who came to Japan seemed a bit impatient.

It wasn't until after that bus incident that James managed to suppress this impatience, making them treat it as a long-term task.

Therefore, Shuichi Akai's perspective on issues is naturally more objective.

"I feel that he probably already knew who we were, but he might not have known which side we were on, so he deliberately held back and forced us to take action in order to find out who we really were."

Upon hearing Shuichi Akai's words, Jodie Starling seemed to want to argue with him, but Shuichi Akai simply pulled down the brim of his hat, signaling Jodie Starling to calm down.

"I think the other party may indeed have connections with the Black Organization, but I think the connection may not be what you think."

Upon hearing Shuichi Akai's analysis, James Black nodded and let Shuichi Akai continue.

"The Pioneer Foundation is a very strange organization. It is both mysterious and aboveboard. It seems to put everything out in the open, yet it keeps the world's intelligence agencies guessing about its style of operation and purpose."

"But no matter what, such an organization that is richer than a country must have its own secret intelligence agency, and must have had dealings with the Black Organization over the years."

This is common knowledge among intelligence organizations worldwide.

Although there is no concrete evidence for this, who would believe that such an organization would really have no secrets? It's just that the Pioneer Foundation keeps a low profile and doesn't cause trouble.

As long as the other party continues to maintain this attitude, intelligence organizations from other countries will only symbolically send some people to "maintain" cooperative relations with the Pioneer Foundation, and will not be as cautious as they are with the Black Organization.

While Shuichi Akai expressed his speculation without any evidence, those of us who work as spies and undercover agents rely most on our intuition, not evidence.

Based on his previous meeting with Jiang Hang, Shuichi Akai intuitively felt that Jiang Hang had no ill intentions towards him and was not an enemy of the FBI.

"My idea is that the Pioneer Foundation, like intelligence agencies in various countries, may have sent its own spies into the Black Organization in order to obtain the Black Organization's secret plan that has been planned for half a century."

His gaze fell on Jodie Starling.

"There is even a possibility that Vermouth, whom we FBI have been tracking for so many years, is an undercover agent from the Pioneer Foundation who infiltrated the Black Organization."

"That's impossible!"

As expected, as soon as Shuichi Akai expressed his idea, Jodie Starling rejected the possibility without hesitation.

Twenty years ago, after killing her father, the woman tricked her into believing he was just asleep, then lured her back to her room and set fire to their house.

If she hadn't suddenly thought of going out to buy her father his favorite drink while lying in bed, she probably would have died 20 years ago.

How could a woman like that be an undercover agent?

"Shuichi Akai, you must have misjudged the situation. How could that woman be involved with the Pioneer Foundation!"

Shuichi Akai knew that this speculation would definitely make Jodie Starling lose control of her emotions, so he let her vent her feelings and then continued talking after a while.

"We are both special agents, so we should know the price we have to pay to continue our undercover missions. You can't ignore this just because of what the other side did in the past."

"Of course, this is just my guess. After all, there does seem to be some unknown connection between Jiang Hang and that Vermouth, so it's normal to make that connection."

"It's also possible that the Black Organization realized Jiang Hang's value, so they specifically called Vermouth back to Japan, hoping to use her to reach some kind of cooperation with the Pioneer Foundation."

"But from any perspective, Jiang Hang, as the heir to the Pioneer Foundation, has no reason to collude with the Black Organization."

Jodie Starling replied dismissively, "Perhaps he feels his position as heir is not secure enough, so he wants to join forces with that organization to seize control of the Foundation sooner."

"Should we give it a try? We can pass your idea on to the Pioneer Foundation and see if they will take any action against Jiang Hang," Shuichi Akai said calmly.

"Given the Pioneer Foundation's usual practice, regardless of the final outcome, they will first thank the FBI for their concern for their Foundation. They might even give our group a special thank-you gift and ask if we'd like to switch jobs and work for them."

Upon hearing this, James, who had been listening, quickly coughed lightly.

You can't just say things like that carelessly.

After all, the Pioneer Foundation's main principle is to value harmony, and money is the paving stone for everything they do.

If double the annual salary isn't enough, then five times; if five times isn't enough, then ten times—generous benefits plus a relaxed work environment.

Moreover, they don't care about your previous identity or your purpose in joining the Foundation. As long as you are willing to accept the organization's arrangements and work diligently, then everyone is one family, and they will absolutely not interfere with your work methods or any social interactions outside of work.

The undercover agent who was sent to infiltrate the Pioneer Foundation back then is now enjoying a retirement life that many agents envy.

Despite this peculiar corporate atmosphere, the Pioneer Foundation's market value has steadily increased every year.

Even the agents could only discover in the later debriefings that it was some inconspicuous aspects of the work they and other employees had done that ultimately enabled the Pioneer Foundation to always come out on top in the global market.

In short, although his most capable subordinates, Shuichi Akai and Jodie Starling, both harbor deep-seated hatred for the Black Organization, they should not be susceptible to the advances and corruption of the Pioneer Foundation.

But he couldn't guarantee that his other subordinates would be able to resist the temptation of the Pioneer Foundation's generous offer.

"There's no need for that. The FBI has other dedicated teams that handle intelligence with the Pioneer Foundation. If we rashly contact the Pioneer Foundation, it might cause some unnecessary disputes within the agency."

It's probably because that group is treated so well that they don't want anyone else to get involved.

Several FBI agents muttered these thoughts to themselves, but they could only keep them to themselves.

After interrupting Shuichi Akai's assessment of the Pioneer Foundation, James directly asked Shuichi Akai what he planned to do.

Shuichi Akai simply spread his hands.

"If possible, I would like to use a more direct approach."

"Since the other party likely already knows our identities, there's no need for us to continue hiding them from them. We should just tell them our identities and purpose directly."

If the other party is the Foundation's heir, then he should deal with them using the methods the Foundation has always used; perhaps this will actually win their friendship.

Even if they don't get it, it shouldn't change the Foundation's attitude towards the FBI.

The agents present were all somewhat surprised that Shuichi Akai, a person with a consistently cautious personality, would suddenly make such a direct decision.

But thinking about it carefully, it seems to be just as Shuichi Akai said.

Jiang Hang is first and foremost the heir to the Foundation, and then a rising star detective known as the "Eagle-Eyed Detective." Trying to Mind's Eye someone like that is unlikely to yield anything useful; it's better to just go straight up and ask him directly.

After some thought, James felt that Shuichi Akai's suggestion was indeed risk-free and could potentially yield considerable benefits.

So he nodded.

"Then, I'll leave this matter to you. Establish contact with Jiang Hang in the near future, and if possible, try to find out the meaning of those two photos from Jiang Hang."

He was referring to photos of Ran Mori and Conan Edogawa in Vermouth's house, which the FBI still hasn't figured out what significance these two people have for Vermouth.

Then, he glanced at Jodie Starling Sterling, who was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Jodie Starling, you'll be in charge of cooperating with Shuichi Akai. After all, you two are the only ones who have had contact with Jiang Hang."

Upon hearing this, Jodie Starling's expression immediately brightened.

"As for the others, continue to keep an eye on Vermouth and the Mouri Detective Agency, as previously assigned."

After a small meeting, the FBI team heading to Japan finally confirmed the next phase of their work.

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Conan, who had been unconscious for a while, finally opened his eyes again.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Jiang Hang sitting next to the hospital bed, peeling an apple with his Hidden Blade.

"Why is it you?"

He glanced around; only Jiang Hang and Miyano Shiho.

"Because your Ran and Mori went to see someone off, I also let them go have breakfast and rest for a while before coming back."

Jiang Hang quickly peeled an apple and handed it to Miyano Shiho without hesitation.

"Your condition isn't suitable for eating fruit right now. You should lie down and get an IV drip. Do you need me to call a doctor for you?"

Conan looked at Jiang Hang with a speechless expression.

This guy, he's already like this, and you still want to mess with his mentality.

However, he quickly remembered what happened last night.

Thinking back to when he lost too much blood, it was Ran who told the doctor without hesitation that their blood types matched, Conan couldn't help but sigh slightly.

When he was Conan, he never told anyone about his blood type.

"So, my identity has been exposed?"

Jiang Hang continued peeling his apple, responding without looking up.

"You two seem to be having a lot of fun with this kind of couple's tacit understanding challenge. If you think this kind of play is too embarrassing, I can help you peel back the layers right now."

Incidentally, you can also complete tasks for a Level 5 detective agency.

They've won so badly they're completely dominating.

Perhaps because the phrase "couples' tacit understanding challenge" was too stimulating for Conan, he seemed to touch the wound on his waist while twisting, and immediately let out a "hissing" sound.

"It seems you're enjoying this quite a bit, so I'll keep it a secret for you a little longer. But you probably won't be able to see the big show that's coming up."

"A big show?" Conan was slowly adjusting his lying position, couldn't help but become a little concerned after hearing Jiang Hang's words.

Jiang Hang has been in seclusion at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department for the past few weeks. Has he discovered some secrets again?

Jiang Hang turned to look at Miyano Shiho: "When you go to see your sister, tell her that I'm planning to go see that heartless man in the next couple of days and see if she wants to come over."

Chapter 495: Chapter 491: A Request from Kogoro Mouri

Jiang Hang had planned to wait until his hacking skills were displayed on the panel before using his technology to check on the FBI, meet with Shuichi Akai, discuss their mission, and also talk to his employees about their relationship issues.

He just didn't expect that a hacking skill would take him so long, so much so that it's already December and he's only now successfully added the skill to his skill panel.

Fortunately, the hacking skills that Jiang Hang has unlocked over the years are among the best he has so far.

After all, a basic skill could completely transform the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's cyber defense system, making those professional and semi-professional cyber police officers who graduated from various prestigious universities willingly call him "teacher."

Jiang Hang felt that the upper limit of his skill was either to turn himself into a digital life form and achieve cyber immortality, or to create a real mechanical life form and become the creator of the network world.

It wasn't until today, when Conan got into trouble and Vermouth came to visit her cool guy, that Jiang Hang quite naturally noticed the little tails following Vermouth by observing Altair hovering above the hospital.

It's a pity that the little tail behind the other party wasn't Shuichi Akai, otherwise Jiang Hang would be planning to sneak up behind Shuichi Akai and give him a surprise attack.

However, Jiang Hang himself did not expect that not only was he now planning to meet with Shuichi Akai, but Shuichi Akai was also preparing to confront him.

In the hospital room, Conan couldn't help but prick up his ears upon hearing the news.

He was naturally aware of the fact that FBI agent Shuichi Akai Dai Moroboshi, had infiltrated the Black Organization using Miyano Akemi as a springboard.

After Shuichi Akai's undercover identity was discovered, he had to flee the organization and return to the FBI. This was also the main reason why Miyano Akemi lost a new member of the Black Organization, was treated as a pawn, and was prepared to be discarded after getting a sum of money from her.

Because of Miyano Akemi's disappearance, Miyano Shiho began to refuse to continue working for the Black Organization. In the end, if Jiang Hang hadn't found out the location of Miyano Shiho's research institute through various clues, she would probably have taken the Apotoxin 4869 and turned into a child like Shinichi Kudo, just like in the original work.

It can be said that Shuichi Akai was at least half the reason why the Miyano Sisters escaped the organization.

Perhaps after being rescued by Jiang Hang, Miyano Akemi has gradually let go of her feelings for Shuichi Akai, but Miyano Shiho seems to still harbor some resentment about it.

After all, no matter what, the other party did deceive her and her sister's feelings, and almost implicated her sister afterwards.

Even knowing the truth doesn't stop Miyano Shiho from giving the other party a friendly look.

"I will talk to my sister about this, but she probably won't go to see that man. I also think it's best to let that man think my sister is dead. If we let them meet again, it will only make things more complicated."

Miyano Shiho answered in this way, seemingly wanting Shuichi Akai to regret her sister's actions for the rest of his life.

Conan, lying on the hospital bed, couldn't help but shiver slightly.