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Crazy. Absolutely insane.
The Black Organization slaughtered people across the globe like chickens, blew up this and that without blinking, but one thing they never touched was buildings closely tied to the government.
Blowing up the Metropolitan Police HQ wasn't just ruthless. That was pure madness.
"Interesting," Gin said, a spark of excitement lighting his eyes as he lit another cigarette."Any idea who did it?"
"Steven. American," Vermouth replied."He was framed back in the States for trafficking illegal goods, forced to take the fall for a high-ranking official's son. He killed the official's entire family, the judge involved, and the corrupt cops who went along with it, then fled to Japan."
"Oh right. You'd know him better by another name.""Wanted criminal No. 1469."
"And according to reliable intel, the detention center incident three months ago was his doing too."
She dumped everything she knew in one breath.
Before his identity was unlocked, Steven was basically an illegal intruder in the Detective Conan world. There was no record of him anywhere, so the Japanese police could only issue a wanted notice using a codename.
After he unlocked a new achievement and obtained legitimate documents, all his data updated. That was when the Japanese police and the FBI finally figured out who he really was.
"I also looked into that guy on your orders, Boss," Vodka added."Three months ago, he was framed in Japan for the rape and murder of a teenage girl. But the police recently found new evidence proving he had nothing to do with it, and they officially withdrew the warrant."
"After this bombing, though, he's probably in a full-on war with Japanese law enforcement."
After the detention center incident, Vodka had investigated Steven as Gin instructed.
Back then, all they had was the codename: Wanted Criminal 1469.
"Not just Japanese police," Vermouth said. "To catch several American fugitives who escaped during that incident, the FBI sent agents over and temporarily used the MPD headquarters as an office."
"The building was attacked, and the FBI took casualties too."
"And here's the strange part. Japanese bomb disposal experts found no explosive residue at the scene at all. How did he pull it off so cleanly?"
She rested her head on one hand, deep in thought, looking even more seductive.
"Stirring up chaos single-handedly and offending both Japanese police and the FBI at the same time. This is getting more and more fun."
"Vermouth," Gin said coldly, "can you track him down?"
"And while you're at it, check whether Rye Whiskey… no, Subaru Okiya. Or rather, Akai Shuichi, died in the explosion."
"I hope he's still alive. I hate it when someone else lays a finger on my prey."
Gin despised traitors and never showed mercy when cleaning them up.
And yet the one he had trusted most, personally promoted to the core of his team, Akai Shuichi, had turned out to be an FBI spy.
The moment Gin learned the truth, he swore to kill him with his own hands.
Akai Shuichi wasn't just a stain on his record. He was a thorn lodged in his heart, holding massive amounts of organizational intelligence and posing an enormous threat.
If Gin didn't personally watch him breathe his last, there was no guarantee that Akai wouldn't one day turn into a silver bullet aimed straight at the organization.
"So," Vermouth asked with a smile, "are you interested in Steven himself, or the bombs he uses?"
"Criminal geniuses the world can't tolerate have always been the organization's favorite treasure."
"I want both," Gin said flatly."But if it comes down to it, securing his bomb-making techniques takes priority."
Only kids make choices.
With Gin's personality, of course he wanted everything.
Abandoned building.
"Got screwed by the system again. Fusing a card hurts worse than being flayed alive."
Steven rubbed his head as he woke up, then picked up the phone he'd taken from Jodie and checked the time.
He'd been unconscious for a full six hours. It was already dusk.
"My body…"
Once he came to his senses, he noticed something was off.
Bulging muscles. Solid skin. Hands brimming with strength.
"I could take on ten guys!"
Boom!
He leapt to his feet and threw a casual punch. The air actually cracked.
Terrifying.
No wonder the fusion hurt so much. It was a complete rebirth.
As expected of the all-round tyrant, the King of Green Hill, the wolf who once took on Sheep Village single-handedly and only lost because the plot demanded it.
This power was insane.
Five achievement points well spent.
At the same time, countless memories flooded his mind. Grey Wolf charging into battle, inventing weapons, modifying machines, and more.
It even included how he and Red Wolf made Little Grey Wolf.
You perverted system. Absolute trash.
Steven despised it, but he was also grateful that the system showed mercy. At least it didn't turn him into Grey Wolf during the fusion.
His handsome face was preserved. Important, for future flirting.
Once the memories finished syncing, Steven willed the system panel open.
[Five-Star Good Citizen System]
Host: Steven
Achievement Points: 0
Active Achievement: Explosion Is Art
Basic Skills: Size Manipulation, Explosion Fruit Ability, Awei's Eighteen Moves (Low-End Version)
Card Skills: Mechanical Mastery, Genius Inventor, Master of All Weapons, Full HP Revival, Auto Target Lock
Inventory: Wolf Fang Club, Wolf Claw Gloves, Power Belt, Tool Treasure Box, Material Treasure Box, Identity Set (Household Register, ID Card, Passport), Bank Card
Shop: Not Open
PS: Two-legged sheep are still sheep. Young man, unleash your top-tier talent and enjoy the thrill of hunting sheep in the Detective Conan world!
Compared to the barebones interface from before, the panel now had two new sections: achievements and card skills.
That suggested the system had hidden data fields that simply weren't relevant yet, so they weren't displayed.
Stuff like language proficiency, driving, music talent, and so on.
"So stingy. All you give me is trash gear!"
"A power belt just boosts strength. What's the point of being strong when this is the age of guns? You'd get shot from a mile away."
"Figures. The system never lets me stay happy for more than three seconds."
Steven stared at his inventory and instantly went into full rant mode.
If the system wouldn't provide, he'd build it himself.
He clearly remembered that all of Grey Wolf's weapons were handmade.
Now that he'd fused Grey Wolf's card, maybe he really could make modern weapons.
"Let's start with a sniper rifle."
The moment he made up his mind, Mechanical Mastery and Genius Inventor both activated. Blueprints, tools, and required materials appeared vividly in his mind, as if laid out right in front of him.
"Tools and materials…"
He opened the tool and material treasure boxes. Whatever he needed, he could pull out directly.
Everything was ready.
Time to get to work.
After a flurry of sparks, clangs, and lightning-fast movements, Steven actually built a sniper rifle, along with nearly a thousand matching rounds.
"Respect to Wolf Bro. Ruthless and to the point."
"Hands-on skills? Absolutely cracked."
Staring at the sniper rifle engraved with Grey Wolf's iconic scarred face, Steven nodded in deep satisfaction.
He began test-firing the gun.
Building it was one thing. Whether it actually worked was another.
A round chambered. Aim.
Bang!
The shot cracked through the air, and an abandoned soda can over a hundred meters away toppled instantly.
Bang! Bang!
Steven fired two more times. Every chosen target was hit cleanly.
"Holy crap… so the auto-lock is a passive skill. As long as it's within range, it's point and shoot. Line of sight doesn't even matter. Guess your boy here is officially a god-tier sniper now."
He stared out at the city, already swallowed by the night, and finally realized what had happened.
The automatic targeting skill had triggered.
Otherwise, there was no way a total newbie who'd never even touched a real gun before his transmigration could pull off perfect accuracy.
Grrr—
His stomach suddenly growled in protest, hunger crashing down on him all at once.
"Food first. Then I'll see if it's worth crafting some more weapons."
Steven rubbed his stomach, stored the sniper rifle in the system inventory, and strode out of the abandoned building, vanishing into the darkness.
"....."