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But the latter neutralized the attack with a single movement—she suddenly opened her umbrella, which acted as a shield, blocking all the bullets.

An umbrella made of bulletproof fabric!? Even so, isn't that a bit too... wait, so fast!?

The sharp blade at the tip of the umbrella continued to stab at Shuichi Akai. He barely managed to block it with his shotgun, but the opponent's strength was beyond his expectations, and the barrel of the shotgun was almost bent by force.

"Shuichi!"

Judy immediately opened fire, but the FBI agent, who was proficient in shooting, missed at such close range. Robette, through anticipation, dodged her bullets with ease, like a female clerk in a coffee shop dodging an AK. She continued to attack Shuichi Akai without turning her head, as if only this man's attacks were a threat to her.

Conan tried to use a tranquilizer dart, but Miss Hound dodged it with ease, as if she had eyes in the back of her head. Conan could only watch helplessly as Shuichi Akai was quickly overwhelmed and forced into a disadvantageous position.

In just a few breaths, Shuichi Akai and Robert had exchanged dozens of blows in close combat, but the former was already panting heavily and his arms were trembling slightly, while the latter hadn't even caught a breath.

While everyone was distracted, Vermouth, who had been lying on the ground seemingly seriously injured, seized the opportunity to leap up, disarmed Judy with a single chop, and took her hostage again.

"enough!"

Vermouth held a pistol to Judy, who was struggling, and shouted at Rolborough:

"My mission hasn't failed yet! That girl... I'll bring her back! Soon!"

Both Robert and Shuichi Akai stopped fighting. Conan, who was standing to the side, was regretting that he hadn't kept an eye on Vermouth, and was also a little confused—Vermouth seemed to be... very afraid of the mission failing?

“…Very well, then you kill that FBI agent, and I will take care of this man…”

Miss Hound glanced at Conan again.

"And this brat who shot me with a poison needle."

Vermouth immediately panicked:

"No! This matter only concerns—"

Suddenly, the sound of a car engine coming from afar interrupted her words.

A taxi drove a few dozen meters away, and then a small figure jumped out, staring blankly at everything in front of her.

The taxi sped away without looking back, leaving everyone else staring at the newcomer.

Vermouth let out a sigh of relief, a faint smile returning to her lips—although things had deviated too much from the plan, at least…

Shuichi Akai's gaze was even more complicated. From both a public and private perspective, he didn't want any of the girls in front of him to fall into Aphrodite's clutches again, but the current situation was extremely bad...

Perhaps... we should have reported this to James from the beginning, at least they wouldn't be so isolated and helpless now.

Conan was mostly shocked—Haibara hadn't been feeling well for the past two days, had gone to bed early, and had even taken the sleeping pills Dr. Agasa had given her, and... how did she find...

But when he saw the glasses Ai Haibara was wearing, he immediately realized—the spare prisoner tracking glasses!

"Haibara!? No..."

Conan stopped mid-sentence—telling her not to come any closer, and to run away?

But Haibara's biggest wish is to find her older sister.

Moreover, in a sense, returning to Machima's side would eliminate the threat posed by the organization.

He had previously asked Haibara what she planned to do if Makima came looking for her, and she clearly couldn't decide either—whether to lose her freedom for the rest of her life but gain safety, or to live a peaceful life as a caged bird.

Finally, with slightly trembling steps, Ai walked step by step to the front of everyone.

Her gaze swept over Conan, Shuichi Akai, Jodie, and Vermouth, finally settling on Miss Hound:

"You...recognize me, don't you?"

Robert closed her umbrella, lifted the hem of her skirt, and nodded slightly to Ai: "Please forgive the hound for being late. Lady Machima has been looking for you."

Ai bit her lip, swallowed, and said firmly:

“I will go with you, I will go to see Machima, but… you must spare everyone else here.”

Robert hesitated for a moment: "This...I'm afraid..."

"If it's Machima, she'll agree to my request, so you... cannot disobey my orders!"

Seeing Ai's unwavering resolve, the Hound Girl nodded: "In that case, of course I will comply with your request, Vermouth?"

Vermouth snorted coldly, shoved Jodie aside, and, clutching her wound, went to Rolborough's side. She glared at Ai—if it weren't for that guy's twisted sense of humor… she would have already…

Seeing Haibara about to leave, Conan finally couldn't hold back any longer:

"Haibara! You—"

"Shut up!" X2

Ai and Vermouth's reprimands rang out almost simultaneously. Both looked at each other in surprise, then looked away. Finally, it was Ai who spoke:

"It's... over, Great Detective. I appreciate your help during this time, but... what happens afterward is beyond your control. In fact, it has nothing to do with you anymore, so... just go back home."

Chapter 265 Direct Confrontation with Machima – The CIA's Entry

It's just... returning to Machima's side...

Ai stopped looking at Kudo and walked towards the car without turning back.

She told herself—this isn't so bad, she no longer has to worry about threats from the organization, no longer has to worry about bringing danger to others, and she can reunite with her sister…

elder sister……

Ai had been longing for Akemi...

But now that she was finally going back to Machima's side, the thought of her sister made her heart pound – the image of Machima and her sister being intimate and playing music together at the swimming pool that day came back to her mind once again.

Her sister had no choice but to submit to that bastard for her own sake, but... now that things have come to this, how is she supposed to face all of this?

Should I confront Machima, or pretend I don't know anything?

And... how will my sister face me...? If it were her, she would probably pretend nothing happened so as not to upset me...

That damned Machima! It's all that guy's fault!

the other side

Looking at Shiho, who had initially appeared utterly despondent but then suddenly turned fierce, Vermouth frowned slightly—was this little girl planning to seek revenge on Makima?

The key point is that if that's really the case, she probably really doesn't have any solutions.

We need to find a way to stop Machima from coming again...

As she was thinking, Vermouth nearly bumped into Miss Hound, who suddenly stopped.

"……What's wrong?"

Miss Hound didn't speak, but her already expressionless face seemed even colder as she stared into the darkness in the distance, as if there was something there.

Vermouth looked on in confusion, and saw what appeared to be a reflection flashing from the container in the distance.

Knowing all too well what this light represented, she widened her eyes and was about to make a move, but the Hound Girl beside her reacted even faster. She opened her umbrella and shielded Ai under her.

The next second, the luxury car's tires were blown out, and only then did the whistling sound of bullets reach the ears.

"What's going on here!?"

Vermouth rolled behind the vehicle, knowing that her small pistol posed no threat to the enemy at that distance, and pointed it at Shuichi Akai and his group.

The latter also hid behind cover, and Shuichi Akai even picked up Conan along with him.

"Did you call someone else?" Judy asked in a low voice.

“No.” Shuichi Akai shook his head, his brows furrowed.

At the same time, accompanied by a dizzying sensation, Ai felt herself being thrown into a soft embrace. When she looked up, she saw Vermouth with a dark expression.

She tried to struggle, but Vermouth held her even tighter: "Don't move! If anything happens to you, I'll be in big trouble!"

Xiao Ai scoffed:

"...You're quite loyal to Machima? I haven't forgotten that you were the one who betrayed her first!"

"betray?"

Vermouth gave a cold laugh.

"Unfortunately, my opinion differs from yours..."

Meanwhile, Miss Hound had already taken a rifle from the back seat of the car and started a passionate firefight with an unknown enemy lurking in the shadows.

But soon, as more car engines roared closer, seven or eight Humvees surrounded the group on the dock from both the front and rear.

A large group of burly men wearing bulletproof vests, combat uniforms, helmets, and night vision goggles jumped out from behind the vehicle and began to aim their guns.

Although their tactical movements resemble those of professional soldiers, and their every gesture exudes skill and competence, their clothing differs from their uniform equipment, with many wearing casual clothes like T-shirts and short sleeves underneath.

Laymen might not realize it, but Shuichi Akai saw it at a glance:

"JSOC? No, if it's a unit borrowed from the Joint Operations Command, there's no way there wouldn't be any news... It seems to be the PMO under SAD?"

PMO stands for Paramilitary Agents, while SAD is an abbreviation for Special Operations Division. This division is further divided into two independent groups: PAG, which is responsible for covert political operations—basically not using firearms, mostly engaged in political and propaganda work, and also responsible for intelligence and evidence gathering.

The remaining SOG is the group specifically responsible for tactical paramilitary operations, which is the dirty work—the same goal of collecting intelligence and evidence, but they would be embarrassed to go back without killing a few people while collecting them.

Conan, standing nearby, was immediately stunned: "Special Activities Department... paramilitary agents? Wait... so these people are..."

"Ah, it's the CIA... It seems we're not the only ones eyeing Vermouth..."

Hideaki Akai glanced at Conan, seemingly surprised that the little brat knew so much.

"If I'm not mistaken..."

"It's been a long time, Robbert."

A man's voice came through the car's loudspeaker.

Robert frowned slightly upon hearing the voice, while Judy looked at Shuichi Akai with some surprise.

"That voice... is it Locke from the CIA? But how did they track us down? We didn't reveal anything about Vermouth's investigation to them?"

Shuichi Akai frowned deeply, then sighed.

"It seems... they knew all along that we were withholding information, so... they were watching us."

Vermouth was already feeling a bit numb. She felt like she had only prepared one table of food for the night, but ten tables of guests had come.

She looked at Miss Hound:

"Can you get in touch with Machima?"

"Please don't try to contact the outside world anymore. Our people have blocked all communication in this area. Although I know this probably won't delay things for long, I still want to spend some precious time talking to you, Robbert."

A man emerged from behind the defensive line of vehicles and armed personnel; it was Rokuro Okajima.

He didn't stop until he was about ten meters in front of the crowd.

"Do you remember who you are, Lorbet?"

"Humph……"

Miss Hound looked at the other party with a cold smile.

“I’d long forgotten, but unfortunately, I still remember you, Locke.”

On the other side, Shuichi Akai and Jodie knew that the two had crossed paths in Roanapur, but they didn't really know the specifics. Conan was completely confused at this moment—who are these people?

Although he knew that tonight's events would be significant, the current situation still far exceeded his expectations.

“I don’t know what happened to you, but…Rolbet, Glucia has been waiting for you.”

Ai and Vermouth, who were closest to her, noticed that when the Hound Girl heard the last name, the hand holding the gun began to tremble slightly.

Locke's persuasion continued:

“He’s been waiting for you to come back. In fact, if I hadn’t stopped him, he probably would have come to Japan to try and find you long ago. You know he would never give up on you…”

"Shut up……"

Robbert practically roared through gritted teeth.

“If you don’t want to be riddled with bullets, take your men and get out of here right now. Don’t get involved in this, Locke! I’m giving you a chance for the sake of the past…”

"...The hunting dogs in my memory don't change owners so easily."

Locke's gaze darkened as he looked at Robert, who seemed to be trembling with anger.

“I know our enemy is terrifying, but please trust the CIA, trust the power of the United States, and trust me—after all this is over, she won't find you again. You can return to Glucia's side, and the CIA will protect the Labres family… You will…”

"--Bang--"

Unexpectedly, Robert fired without hesitation—a gradually manic smile played on her lips, but her eyes began to look vacant.