"What's wrong with Sonoko?" Ran asked worriedly when she heard that Kurosawa had been comforting her best friend. After all, he'd been talking outside for at least half an hour—it must be something serious.
"It's about the news we heard at Shin-Yokohama Station this morning. That batch of gold." Kurosawa hadn't gotten the money yet, so he didn't hide anything and told them everything.
After listening, the three of them stared wide-eyed.
Kogorō abruptly stood up, utterly annoyed. "You brat! You didn't tell me about something so important? What a pity! That's at least 1.4 to 1.5 billion yen worth of gold!"
Kurosawa said quietly, "So, Uncle Mouri, what would you do if you found that gold?"
"I'd hand it over to the government, of course." Kogorō blurted out, then gave an awkward laugh, seeing Kurosawa staring intently at him.
"That's exactly why I didn't tell you, Uncle Mouri. It's not that I don't trust you—I just knew you'd do that." Kurosawa was telling the truth. Though Kogorō was usually unreliable, he was absolutely serious when it mattered. He knew very well what he should and shouldn't do.
Kogorō's expression turned serious. "Don't do that again. It's illegal."
"So I'm cooperating with the Suzuki family. For them, isn't that a simple matter?"
Kogorō was speechless. But as long as it wasn't murder or arson, his bottom line was still flexible. He said helplessly, "Whatever. You have a good relationship with the Suzuki family now anyway. But someone actually thought of the same thing and took the gold ahead of time. That person is really something."
Hearing this, Conan nodded, feeling a little annoyed. He hadn't thought of something so simple. A ship that hadn't sunk and hadn't been discovered for seven years must have been trapped somewhere. He hadn't considered that possibility at the time. After Kurosawa explained it, he remembered it well. If he ever encountered a ship that suddenly reappeared years later, he'd immediately think of that possibility.
"Oh, I see." Ran smiled. "Sonoko was afraid you wouldn't believe her, so she talked to you for so long."
"Yeah." Kurosawa walked to the sofa and lay down. "I practically talked myself hoarse before she believed me."
"That's normal. If you told me the location of the gold, and then I told you it was taken beforehand, you definitely wouldn't believe me either, right?"
"I believe you."
"No, I was just giving a normal analogy. You have to say you don't believe me."
"No, I believe you." Kurosawa smiled.
"Oh dear, you have to not believe me." Ran's tone became anxious.
"I believe you."
"I already said no!"
"Alright, alright." Kogorō interrupted the two children with a dark expression. In his eyes, the two children were practically flirting, which this old father couldn't tolerate.
"You!" He pointed to the seat next to him and said to Kurosawa, "Move over a bit. I'm going to sit where you are."
Kurosawa didn't understand, but he moved anyway.
Kogorō immediately sat down and stared at his daughter across from him. "Ran, weren't you supposed to be cleaning? What are you sitting there for? Hurry up and clean. It's almost dark, and I promised to take you out to eat tonight. Don't blame me if we're delayed because of you."
"Okay." Ran nodded and hurriedly got up to work.
Meanwhile, in a bar where the Black Organization was gathering.
Vodka sat at the bar like a lost soul, drinking without any energy.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Amuro Tooru came over, sat down next to him, and patted his shoulder.
Vodka glanced at Amuro, then silently lowered his head and took a big gulp of his drink.
"What's wrong? Heartbroken? Tell me—I'll help you analyze it."
Vodka sighed dejectedly. "Big Brother went out to do something this morning, and he didn't want me to come with him."
Amuro narrowed his eyes, sensing this was important information. He tried to suppress his excitement and asked with a hint of curiosity, "What? Did Gin go to complete some special mission given by the organization?"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
"Well—" Vodka finally realized that Amuro was trying to trick him into revealing information. His eyes behind his sunglasses glared at him. "Why are you asking so many questions?"
Amuro smiled. "Curiosity, of course. You and Gin are always inseparable, and then he suddenly left, leaving you all alone here. How could that not make people curious?"
Instantly, Vodka's heart felt like it had been shot with an arrow. His whole body went limp again, looking utterly powerless.
"What? Do you need me to tell you what I did myself?"
Suddenly, Gin's familiar tone echoed in their ears.
Amuro was startled. A chill ran down his spine. He silently turned his head to find Gin standing beside him, hands in the pockets of his black trench coat, long silver hair covered by a black top hat, bangs partially obscuring his face, cold eyes staring at him without blinking. His cold, aloof demeanor, combined with his simple yet rugged style, exuded an overwhelming aura of power.
"Haha, just kidding," Amuro chuckled, waving his hand.
"Big Brother, you're back!" Vodka's low spirits vanished instantly upon seeing his brother. A smile spread across his face.
Gin frowned, sensing something odd about his younger brother. Before he could understand what was going on, his phone rang.
He glanced at it and answered.
"Gin." Rum's hoarse voice came through.
"It's me."
"I've read your report and seen the money you transferred. Seven years have passed—that batch of gold should be worth 1.4 to 1.5 billion yen. Why is it only 1.3 billion? The money you gave me isn't right, is it?"
Gin explained calmly, "The guy who exchanged money for gold back then must have been seen as eager to get it. The price was raised."
"Hmm, that makes sense. I also investigated what happened seven years ago. He did indeed escape when he was about to be arrested. It's normal that the price of gold was raised because someone saw through his escape attempt. No wonder gold worth one billion isn't worth as much as I imagined after seven years. It turns out he was ripped off back then and didn't get that much gold at all."
Rum took a breath and continued, "With the money you provided, the experiments in the new lab can finally proceed. Very good, Gin. I'll tell that person about your contribution."
With that, Rum hung up.
Amuro suddenly realized that Gin had gone to make money. He immediately lost interest in staying there, said goodbye, and left.
Gin watched his retreating figure as he left the bar before turning his gaze away and sitting down next to Vodka.