BONUS CHAPTER#4
Meanwhile—
After Vermouth left, Jiangxia sat up in bed and yawned.
He was just about to go fetch his phone when the ghosts around him started murmuring—Vermouth was back. And this time, she brought a fresh and overwhelming wave of killing intent. The ghosts could smell it from down the hall.
Jiangxia glanced at the ones secretly wiping drool from their mouths, then at the parent-ghosts who had rushed back and were now clinging happily to his legs.
"…"
Vermouth really was a woman of grit and determination.
–––
Based on Jiangxia's observations, his "aura" didn't just brute-force people into liking him. It worked more like a strong first impression—like planting a seed.
Basically, it was like falling in love with someone because they once lent you a pencil in third grade. Once that positive impression formed, their brain would do the rest, unconsciously amplifying Ouzo's so-called "virtues."
So even if the aura wore off, as long as he didn't do anything completely unhinged, that good impression would stick around—after all, they had thought of it "themselves."
And the most brilliant part? It didn't raise suspicion at all.
It was like sitting down to study and ending up scrolling cat videos for two hours—you'd blame yourself for being distracted, not assume someone hacked your brain.
Still, the aura wasn't foolproof.
Take Vermouth this time: she didn't have hard evidence, but the doubts in her heart were strong enough to reassert her rationality. Which led to her current decision—to return and quietly eliminate the "threat" in bed.
Her mental journey was probably like someone staring at a credit card bill after impulse-buying 30 novelty shark plushies.
Of course, coming back to kill was one thing.
Whether she could actually go through with it was another matter entirely.
–––
A few dozen seconds later—
In the dim hotel corridor, Vermouth strutted toward the door in high heels, her killing intent coiled and ready like a spring. She deftly picked the lock.
The door clicked open.
She palmed a poison capsule between her fingers, then strode toward the bed, heading straight for the sleeping Jiangxia.
Her steps slowed.
Then slowed even more.
And eventually… she just stopped.
"…"
Actually, now that she thought about it rationally, this whole "Ouzo sees Cool Guy as a toy and will kill him the moment he becomes inconvenient" theory… kinda had holes.
If Ouzo were truly a dark-hearted maniac obsessed with shrunken adults, he wouldn't just watch from the sidelines. He'd be poking Conan with syringes in a basement lab by now. But instead, he'd been bizarrely tolerant—letting "Edogawa Conan" run wild right under his nose, day after day.
"…"
Come to think of it, maybe some people really did chase what they didn't have.
Like herself—seeing Cool Guy and Angel as pure and bright. Maybe Ouzo… did too?
If Ouzo could be trusted, then he might actually be a valuable ally.
Sure, Angel was reliable. But Cool Guy? He had this cursed habit of charging after shady characters without a care for his own safety, like a bear child with a magnifying glass. It was exhausting.
Vermouth was constantly bogged down by missions and tailed by the FBI. She barely had time to keep tabs on "Edogawa Conan," let alone protect him.
But Ouzo… Ouzo could move freely. If he could help rein in Cool Guy's recklessness—well, maybe he already had.
Now that she thought about it, Cool Guy still being alive after all his stunts… might have a lot to do with Ouzo.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 20/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:3/10*