Onion Man's Routine

Ran Mouri, carrying several shopping bags and holding the hand of the little boy with the strange name, walked past the Polo Cafe. Seeing this, Tooru Amuro frowned.

Tang Ze had said this morning that he was taking the child upstairs out to play. How come this child returned with the girl from upstairs first? Where was Tang Ze?

This child was also very strange. Tang Ze wasn't the type to get close to people. Even though they often traveled together after school, he and Ran Mouri maintained a proper social distance. Amuro had never seen him proactively approach her, especially considering Ran Mouri was a very attractive and outstandingly beautiful young lady.

Tang Ze didn't seem like a teenage boy at all. He hadn't shown any special treatment towards beautiful girls like Ran Mouri, nor had he displayed typical adolescent traits like being restless, eager, or prone to showing off. Tooru Amuro suspected this was related to Tang Ze's unusual family background, or perhaps his status as a juvenile offender had suppressed his true nature.

Until this child named Edogawa Conan appeared.

When Tang Ze, worried about his whereabouts, rushed out without even tidying his things, even chasing after a car until it was far away, Tooru Amuro's surprise was evident.

Tang Ze had inexplicably become very familiar with this elementary school student, their interactions becoming increasingly frequent. He was called out by phone this morning as well. A high school student and an elementary school student had formed a friendship. Tang Ze even showed rare moments of relaxation when conversing with Conan, which made Tooru Amuro very puzzled and somewhat worried.

Bourbon certainly wouldn't report such an abnormal situation, but he wasn't the only monitor assigned by the Organization.

In the past few days, there seemed to have been some changes within the Organization. The instructions they sent became more urgent, and the importance of the information held by the Tang Ze family seemed to have increased again. The perfunctory surveillance reports he submitted were no longer sufficient. It was unknown if they would resort to more extreme measures.

If the Organization ultimately failed to find what they wanted from Tang Ze, Edogawa Conan, as the person who had been closest to Tang Ze these days, could very well become the next target.

Tang Ze had gone out with him several times. Rye's reports might have already reached Rum's desk...

He hoped things wouldn't develop in the worst possible direction.

Tang Ze's case exposed the unreliability within Public Security. He couldn't make any moves to transfer Tang Ze for protection in a short period. The Organization's actions were escalating. By then, the fate of this child...

Tooru Amuro's professional smile was perfectly curved, hiding his uneasy emotions.

He had already deeply understood what one lost as an undercover agent. But every time he had to witness evil occur, or even create it himself, profound negative emotions would repeatedly consume him.

At least this time, he would do his best to try and pull this child, who had been dragged into the mire by the blind spots of the judicial system and the dark side of power and money, out of the abyss.

"Tang Ze-kun, you're back." Azusa Enomoto heard the wind chimes at the door and looked up to see Tang Ze. She greeted him with a smile.

After spending these past few days together, she quite liked this boy. He wasn't noisy or troublesome, was considerate in his actions, and was so gentle and quiet that it made her feel a little sorry for him. After all, a child's maturity was often forged through hardship.

"Miss Enomoto, Mr. Amuro, I'm back."

Tang Ze still spoke with polite deference, just like always. Tooru Amuro, however, sensed that his mood was currently low and turned to observe him inquisitively.

Tang Ze was indeed in low spirits.

Shuichi Akai had hit him with a barrage of shocking plot revelations. He had walked all the way back and still hadn't processed it.

The setting given to him in this stitched-together world was a complete disaster!

Not only had he joined the Sera family's luxurious all-inclusive package, but he wasn't even as useful as Shiho Miyano.

Shiho Miyano was a genius researcher. Tang Ze Zhao was, at best, a hostage used to control the Tang Ze couple. Now that his parents were dead, he, the hostage, held the key inheritance, making him nothing more than a piggy bank waiting to be smashed.

Furthermore, he learned from Shuichi Akai that because his parents had recognized and concealed Shuichi Akai's identity early on, Shuichi Akai knew the relationship between the Miyano, Akai, and Tang Ze families completely. In this world, Shuichi Akai hadn't joined the Organization through his masterful "accident" skills or a forbidden love, but had been introduced by his parents.

The current Shuichi Akai's familial relationship with Tang Ze hadn't been exposed yet—otherwise, he wouldn't be the one assigned to surveillance. However, his entry into the Organization was originally recommended by the Tang Ze couple, making him someone who would be closely monitored. As long as his desire to kill Gin remained, this was a huge landmine.

The deaths of the Tang Ze couple were an ignited fuse. When it would explode on him depended on the length of the fuse; it would come sooner or later.

The situation was not good.

He hoped that Shuichi Akai, this expert at dealing with relatives, would act slowly. With his incompetent teammate abilities, catching Gin was nothing but a pipe dream.

One thought, not necessarily correct: perhaps Shuichi Akai coming to find him meant he was already making arrangements for his departure, or rather, preparing a fallback plan. Otherwise, after ambushing Gin, he wouldn't have any opportunity to help Tang Ze leave.

Could it be that he was preparing to make his move?

Tang Ze quietly looked at Tooru Amuro.

Furuya-san, please, for the love of all that is good!

"Hm? What's wrong?" Tooru Amuro met his gaze, not understanding.

Quick, tell Rye to stop! All the teammates outside are incompetent! Akemi Miyano, Shiho Miyano, and I are all in the same boat now. Once this bomb that is Shuichi Akai explodes, we'll all be finished!

But Tang Ze opened his mouth and only said, "It's nothing."

Tang Ze's "Alcohol Factory" alias plan had its priority elevated once again. He needed to lay some groundwork for his upcoming actions.

He simply consolidated the current information and decided to first plant some foreshadowing for Tooru Amuro's side, to avoid his unusual movements alerting this sharp undercover agent prematurely and causing variables in his plan.

First, he had to take advantage of the undercover agent's need for information and Public Security's good nature. For example... Shuichi Akai knew about his parents' deaths, so there was no reason for Tooru Amuro not to know.

"Amuro-san, can you contact the owner of this cafe?" Tang Ze asked softly, maintaining his dejected state. "My parents arranged for me to stay here, they should have contacted him, right?"

Of course, he could contact him, but it would be useless because staying there wasn't their arrangement at all. Tooru Amuro asked confusedly, "Why do you suddenly want to find the owner? He's not in the country right now, and we don't know when we'll get a reply..."

Tang Ze said "Oh" and lowered his head absentmindedly.

"Are you in a bad mood today?" Tooru Amuro's nerves, honed as an intelligence operative, were touched. He subconsciously adjusted his expression, speaking in a non-threatening, gentle tone. "You weren't like this when you went out this morning. Did something happen outside?"

Tang Ze wouldn't inexplicably inquire about his parents' situation. As far as he knew, they had been out of contact for several years.

Therefore, Tang Ze must have discovered something.

As Furuya Rei, he felt sympathetic, but as Amuro Tooru, he had to seize this opportunity to press further.

Tang Ze was no stranger to his demeanor and knew he was starting his act.

However, Tang Ze needed an acting partner.

The deeper the tricks you play, the less genuine anyone is.

"I have a really bad feeling about this." Tang Ze sat at the bar, fingertips pressed together against his forehead. "Can you help me contact the boss and ask about my parents' current situation? I asked their lawyer during the trial, but I didn't get an answer."

Tooru Amuro stood straight behind the counter, lowering his gaze.

Tang Ze looked very vulnerable right now, leaning into his hands, his half-open blue eyes unfocused. Tooru Amuro could see the unguarded nape of Tang Ze's neck.

This ignorant child was like a sacrificial lamb offering its own throat, anyone could seize his weakness and easily take his value.

Furuya Rei looked down at him with pity, then Tooru Amuro reached out and touched his lowered head, as if calmly slitting the throat of his prey.

"Why do you think that, Tang Ze?" he asked in a softer tone. "Did you receive some news?"