Slacker Assassin's Multiverse Daily: A Good Show—I'll Bet Your Gun Has No Bullets

But after that, he had no memory of anything at all.

That person... should have been Jiang Hang, right? Could this really have something to do with him?

Conan was somewhat uncertain, but now was not the time to confirm that. He needed to figure out where he was.

Using the moonlight outside the window, he struggled to his feet from the floor and cautiously made his way to the windowsill.

Judging by the moon's position, it was probably past nine at night, and he was currently on the second floor of this old house.

Where was that woman? What exactly did she want by leaving me here?

As Conan wrestled with his doubts, footsteps suddenly approached from outside the door, and the voice of the "woman" who had taken him from the Mori Detective Agency drifted in from beyond it.

"...No matter what, we paid a huge price to obtain information on that kid from that organization. He's the only person who has had this reaction to the drug produced by the organization, and the higher-ups are very interested in him. We have to bring him back to the organization!"

Conan's heart skipped a beat. Only then did he notice that there was actually a tiny hole in the wooden door leading outside, one that allowed him to see through it!

He carefully approached the door and observed the people talking outside.

Aside from the woman who had brought him here, there was another person with his back to Conan—a mysterious man dressed in a black formal suit and wearing a top hat.

The man in black spoke with obvious impatience. "What a pain... Not only do I have to bring a kid back, I also have to make a deal with that organization. Gin and Vodka really know how to cause me trouble..."

At that, turmoil surged through Conan's heart.

Could this man also be a high-ranking member of the Black Organization?

But what was this "organization" he was talking about...? From what the woman had said, his information had been traded to the Black Organization by that organization. And judging by their current attitude, they were extremely wary of it as well.

Just then, the woman seemed to receive some sort of message. After glancing at her phone, her expression turned ugly. "Someone from that organization is here. You brought what he wants, right...?"

The man with his back to Conan nodded without saying a word.

"Keep an eye on that brat. Don't fail to notice if the drug wears off. I'll go down and bring him in first..."

With that, the woman hurried downstairs. Meanwhile, in Conan's line of sight, the man in black slowly turned toward the wooden door.

Conan had wanted to see what the man looked like, but to his surprise, the man's face was covered by a mask. He could not see what lay beneath it at all.

Afraid of being discovered, Conan did not dare look any longer. He quickly returned to where he had been unconscious and pretended that he had yet to wake up.

The man in black did not inspect him too closely. After taking a glance and seeing no movement from Conan, he stopped paying attention to him.

Conan waited patiently. A few minutes later, the "trading partner" the woman had mentioned arrived at the house.

After confirming that the man in black was not watching him, Conan cautiously approached the wooden door again and continued observing through the small hole.

The moment he saw this so-called "trading partner," Conan nearly lost control of his emotions.

Though he could not see the person's face hidden beneath the hood, the outfit they were wearing was incredibly familiar to him.

Wasn't that the very outfit he had seen in Jiang Hang's office—the set of classical clothing that Jiang Hang had claimed was "the only one in the world"?

Perhaps because it was troublesome, the person had simplified the cloak and the outfit's decorations rather than putting them all on. But Conan was certain that this was the outfit displayed in Jiang Hang's office!

"So this is the Black Organization's hideout in this area? It's really shabby," the person said. The moment he spoke, Conan recognized Jiang Hang's voice.

Had Jiang Hang really sold his information to the Black Organization? When had he learned that Conan was Shinichi Kudo?!

Conan's mind raced. His previous guess had indeed been correct. Jiang Hang was not a member of the Black Organization, but he belonged to another mysterious organization—one that was no weaker than the Black Organization. No, perhaps it was even stronger.

Could the Assassin Brotherhood Jiang Hang had mentioned when he met with the Black Organization before really exist?

While Conan wildly speculated about Jiang Hang's origins, Jiang Hang continued speaking.

"You should have verified the information I gave you already, right? Where's what I want?"

But the man suddenly shook his head. "We still can't confirm that the kid really is Shinichi Kudo. I've sent his fingerprints to be compared with Shinichi Kudo's. We'll only know whether he's really Shinichi Kudo once the results come back."

Hearing that his fingerprints had been sent off for comparison, Conan panicked a little. But there was nothing he could do now, so he could only continue watching the conversation between Jiang Hang and the mysterious man.

Jiang Hang, his face concealed beneath his hood, gave a cold laugh. "Looks like you want to go back on your word?"

"Miyano Akemi, along with the one billion yen she hid away, should be in your hands now. And Miyano Akemi is a traitor to the organization. Information on a Shinichi Kudo isn't worth that much..."

"If the information in my hands weren't so important to your organization, your organization wouldn't have given us information on that kid. You would have found a way to recruit him as a new member instead... Am I wrong?" As he spoke, the man in black lifted a case with one hand and pulled a pistol from behind his back with the other, aiming it at Jiang Hang.

"Put Miyano Akemi aside for now. You stole one billion yen from our organization. Return it, and you can take this information. If you refuse... I heard quite a few people in your organization can dodge bullets. I wonder if you can?" The man in black pointed his gun at Jiang Hang, threatening him in a questioning tone.

When this scene unfolded, not only was Conan, who was secretly watching from behind the door, startled, but even the woman seemed frightened by the man's actions.

"Have you gone insane? The higher-ups never gave an order like this!" The woman immediately tried to stop the man in black. "Are you trying to start a war between the two organizations?"

"If the higher-ups find out you disobeyed orders like this, neither of us will end well!"

"Shut up!" The man in black harshly rebuked his subordinate. "I don't need you telling me what to do. Or do you want to become a corpse left behind here too?"

Throughout the entire exchange, his gaze remained fixed on Jiang Hang, giving him no chance to escape.

That ruthless attitude immediately left the woman too afraid to say another word.

"Well? Have you made your choice?"

As he listened to the other man demand a choice, Jiang Hang still showed no sign of nervousness. He even directly pointed a finger at the man in black.

"If you want to know about that, why not ask that guy named Gin? I think he should tell you," he paused, as if remembering something. "If you don't believe me, how about the two of us make a bet?"

Jiang Hang's gaze suddenly fell on the wooden door.

Behind it, Conan couldn't help but shudder.

Could it be that Jiang Hang discovered I'm already awake?

Conan licked his dry lips, his thoughts unsettled.

He knew that Jiang Hang's ability to notice such details was even sharper than he had imagined.

Although he felt that watching the other man through a tiny hole was well concealed, who knew whether that freak, who couldn't be judged by common sense, might notice him anyway?

Fortunately, the man in the black formal suit spoke, drawing Jiang Hang's attention back to him.

"A bet... interesting. What do you want to bet on?"

Jiang Hang looked at him. "Whether or not I can dodge the bullet you fire."

"Go ahead and pull the trigger. If I fail to dodge it, I die, and you win. But if I do dodge it..." As his hidden blade slid from its sheath, Jiang Hang's gaze drifted between the two people before him. "The instant I dodge that bullet, both of you will die beneath my hidden blade. By then, not only will your organization gain nothing, it will lose both your lives as well."

"Of course, you can also think I'm bluffing... so? Do you want to take this bet?"

At those words, the woman's expression grew anxious. She seemed to want to warn the man in black not to act rashly, but remembering what he had just said, she did not dare speak. She could only watch him nervously.

Even Conan, who was watching from the side, couldn't help holding his breath.

As far as he was concerned, neither side was made up of good people. If they could take each other down, he might find a way to escape!

Unfortunately, just as the stifling atmosphere in the room was about to reach its peak, the man in black broke into a smile.

"As expected of a Brotherhood member. I originally wanted to take a little advantage of you, but it seems I was overthinking things." As he spoke, he aimed his pistol elsewhere and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

"There were no bullets in my gun from the beginning. This is my first time dealing with your organization, and I heard that you took the one billion yen from ours, so I merely wanted to test your bottom line." The man in black handed the case to the woman beside him, who passed it to Jiang Hang with a lingering look of fear on her face.

"As an apology for the offense, our organization will not ask about Miyano Akemi or the one billion yen again. What do you think?"

"I didn't expect someone like you in the Black Organization. I'll remember you." Jiang Hang had already retracted his hidden blade. At the same time, he gave the man in black a deep look. "A word of warning: that kid isn't someone to be taken lightly. If you can't control him, you'd best eliminate him as soon as possible, lest you play with fire and get burned."

That bastard Jiang Hang!

Listening to him, Conan gritted his teeth hard.

The game between those two had made even him nervous, yet he had never expected things to turn out like this.

What he didn't see was that, as Jiang Hang went downstairs, he secretly gave the other two a thumbs-up. Out of Conan's sight, the other two also nodded at each other in approval.

After leaving the old house, Jiang Hang turned back and used Eagle Eye to look at Conan, who was fretting himself sick. Having acted out that whole scene, Jiang Hang felt refreshed from head to toe.

Moreover, he had been the one to suggest the lines for the "bet" part of the script.

People might mock Yan Shuangying's character all the time, but the moment he said, "I bet there are no bullets in your gun," didn't his whole aura become completely different? It was only because the other guy had used that move over and over again that it eventually became a joke everyone mocked.

That meant his remaining scene would be tomorrow's finale. Conan, you'd better not screw things up halfway through.

The facts proved that Conan was still quite capable. Although Jiang Hang's involvement had added quite a bit to the script, Conan still noticed, during Yusaku Kudo and Yukiko Kudo's conversation afterward, that they were going somewhere the next day to make a deal with someone else. They even planned to test the capsule that had shrunk him on that person before killing him.

The next morning, Conan used the "flaw" Yusaku Kudo had deliberately left behind to escape. Unfortunately, despite having already been kidnapped once, the kid had not changed in the slightest. After discovering the code Yusaku Kudo had deliberately left behind and deciphering the location of the deal, he neither notified anyone nor made any preparations. Instead, he ran straight to the hotel where they were "trading."

Watching Conan head off alone from afar, Jiang Hang could only sigh.

How many times have I told you? When something like this happens, just call the police!

Is it that unless someone dies, and you need to notify the police so they can watch you show off while finding the culprit, you simply forget that Japan has public security officers doing their jobs?

Grumbling internally, Jiang Hang informed Yusaku Kudo and the others, who were making preliminary preparations at the hotel on the other end of the phone, that Conan was heading there alone.

Even Yusaku Kudo had to admit that there had indeed been some problems with how he had educated his son over the years.

After seeing Conan run into the hotel, Jiang Hang also headed there to make the final preparations.

This time, he was going to give Conan a memory he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, Conan had successfully found the code Yusaku Kudo had deliberately left behind and cracked its secret, learning that they had chosen Room 301 of the hotel for the transaction.

Conan really wasn't afraid of death. Even at this point, rather than calling the police, he was planning to sneak into Room 301 himself and eavesdrop for more secrets about the Black Organization.

As for his later maneuver of calling the hotel front desk to have a meal delivered to Room 301, then slipping secretly into the room while they weren't paying attention, that too carried quite a few risks.

But this had been intended to make Conan understand the harshness of the world, so Yusaku Kudo had not exposed these issues in advance.

Only after Conan had driven the food delivery waiter from the room did he leisurely lock the door and pull a pistol from his waist.

"Before we officially conduct the transaction, let us introduce you to another guest."

The man in formal wear wearing a mask let out a cold, sinister laugh. He then walked to the wardrobe by the door and dragged out Conan, who was hiding inside and trembling.

"A very clever plan. You used a food delivery waiter, then stuck gum into the keyhole so it couldn't be locked temporarily, before slipping into the room while we weren't paying attention... Even if most people became suspicious, they would look beneath the food cart." As he explained this to Conan, he aimed the pistol in his hand at Conan's head.

"But you won't fool me that easily." Seeing that Conan seemed to still want to use his tranquilizer needle against him, the man let out another mocking laugh. "It's useless. Did you think I hadn't noticed your tranquilizer needle? Your watch was destroyed yesterday. Don't you check your equipment before taking action?"

"It seems I did overestimate you. That man was right—someone like you really is better off dead..." He pressed the pistol directly against Conan's forehead.

"Once you get to heaven, you can regret it then... high school detective, Shinichi Kudo—"

At that moment, Conan closed his eyes in despair. Then, as the other man pulled the trigger, the expected gunshot never came.

Instead, what ultimately struck Conan's forehead was merely a suction-cup dart!?

Conan seemed completely unable to recover from such a sudden turn of events.

At the same time, the woman beside him suddenly took out her phone and captured his embarrassed state on camera.

"I really haven't seen Shinichi make such an amusing expression in a long time," Conan recognized the voice almost instantly as his hearing returned.

The man in the black formalwear and mask removed his mask, revealing his true face.

The woman who had knocked him unconscious on the ground also tore off her disguise.

"Dad... Mom?!" Conan cried out in disbelief.

He had nearly been scared enough to wet his pants, only to find out that his own parents had been messing with him all along?

After hearing his father explain that this "detective game" had been meant to show him the situation he was currently in, Conan helplessly scratched his head and rolled his eyes.

He looked toward the last person, the one wearing a mask and wrapped up so tightly, who had come to make a deal with them.

"You wouldn't happen to be Jiang Hang in disguise, would you?" Conan recalled the scene of Jiang Hang and his father acting their hearts out the night before. He had initially thought the two were testing each other, but looking back now, they were practically the embodiments of drama queens.

However, he had guessed wrong. Only after that person removed his disguise did Conan realize that it had been Professor Agasa.

Conan looked around, seemingly trying to find Jiang Hang. That guy had tricked him so badly—shouldn't he be showing up around now?

However, when Conan mentioned Jiang Hang, Yukiko Kudo's expression seemed to turn somewhat strange.

"Shinichi, actually... Jiang Hang, he..."

Yusaku Kudo interrupted his wife. "Let me explain."

He looked at his son with a grave expression. "Shinichi, part of what happened last night was something we deliberately acted out for you to see, but some of it was real."

Conan, who had already begun to relax, felt his heart rise again at his father's serious tone.

"You should already know that Jiang Hang is backed by The Pioneer Foundation. But a friend of mine in the CIA told me that according to their investigation, there is an unimaginably ancient organization behind The Pioneer Foundation. You should know it too—the 'Assassin Brotherhood' they mentioned."