Chapter 275

Sato Miwako, who had been targeted by Kazato Kyosuke, had finished touching up her makeup and was about to leave the restroom.

Just as she stood up from the chair in front of the mirror, Sato Miwako heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw that it was Mouri Ran.

"Ah, Ran." She greeted Ran Mouri with a smile, stopping in her tracks as she was about to leave. "There are police everywhere. Doesn't the atmosphere feel a bit strange?"

Ran Mouri shook her head: "No, that's alright, but I've heard some things, Officer Sato, you'd better be careful."

Miwako Sato immediately realized that Ran Mouri had heard about the recent series of murders of detectives.

She didn't want a child who had nothing to do with this to worry about her, so she put on a bright smile: "Don't worry, I'll be fine... Uh, what are you doing?"

Miwako Sato looked at Ran Mouri's actions with confusion.

Ran Mouri squatted down by the sink, seemingly about to open the cabinet underneath: "Um, I came here because someone asked me to take a look inside... Huh?"

She opened the cabinet door and was stunned for a moment: "There really is one!"

"What's wrong?" Sato Miwako bent down to look inside, puzzled, and was also surprised. "This is... a flashlight? And it's on?"

Sato Miwako's police instincts told her something was wrong. After thinking for a moment, she told Mouri Ran not to move and closed the cabinet door as it was.

Ran Mouri was taken aback by this attitude, which was as if it were a ticking time bomb. She closed the cabinet door and took two steps away.

Sato Miwako closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief after finding nothing had happened. Then she remembered to ask, "Who sent you to come and see—"

Before the words were even finished, the bathroom light suddenly went out. No, not just the bathroom light, but the hallway lights went out too. It was very likely that the entire floor had lost its light source. The two of them went from light to darkness and couldn't see anything for a moment.

However, Sato Miwako was quick-witted and immediately realized: "Could it be that the flashlight was for this... Ran! Go inside right now and hide!"

"Huh?" Ran Mouri, who had been trying to get away from the cabinet, had unknowingly ended up standing in front of a bathroom door. Hearing Miwako Sato's urgent tone, she quickly groped her way to the door and slipped inside. "Officer Sato, come here too..."

However, it was too late.

Several gunshots rang out, followed by Sato Miwako's painful screams and the sound of her falling to the ground. Even though she couldn't see anything, Mouri Ran guessed what had happened in the darkness: "Officer Sato!"

Ran Mouri didn't care about anything else and rushed out immediately.

Having adapted to the darkness for a while, she could now see her surroundings by the faint light shining through the gaps in the cabinet under the sink. She immediately spotted the figure lying on the ground and rushed over. Not daring to touch anything, she could only check for breathing while shouting for help.

While Ran Mouri was preoccupied with worrying about Miwako Sato and unable to attend to herself, the prisoner hurriedly escaped in the dark.

Soon after, the backup power came on, and the floor was lit again. Ran Mouri was finally able to see what Miwako Sato looked like after she was injured.

Sato Miwako was shot several times, but the bleeding was not significant. However, because the water pipe was also hit, water accumulated on the ground. She slipped, hit her head on the sink, and lost consciousness.

Although the wounds themselves are not fatal, the head is a very dangerous area, and the patient must be taken to the hospital for examination immediately.

Fortunately, after the power came back on, Kogoro Mouri and some police officers who had heard the commotion rushed over. Their expressions changed when they saw the scene. They performed emergency first aid while calling an ambulance.

Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki were so frightened that they held onto Ran Mouri tightly. The thought of their daughter being so close to the criminal and possibly being accidentally injured by a stray bullet filled them with dread.

Ran Mouri helplessly comforted them, feeling that Miwako Sato's situation was more important than hers.

Inspector Megure, after making calls for an ambulance and various arrangements, finally had some free time. He stood helplessly to the side, trying to borrow someone from the couple: "I just want to ask Ran what happened here. It'll only take a moment, okay? And let's go somewhere else, we need to do a crime scene investigation here... Hey, Conan-kun, don't move!"

Once Conan Edogawa entered and confirmed that Miwako Sato was still alive and Ran Mouri was alright, he looked around and found a fallen gun, a hit water pipe, and bullet casings. Taking advantage of his short stature, he was the first to notice that something was wrong with the cabinet under the sink.

He wanted to open it to take a look, but Inspector Megure stopped him. Conan could only scratch his head and chuckle awkwardly, "Um, I feel like something's off about this cabinet..."

As he passed by, something caught his eye, something that seemed to be leaking from a crack, but the bathroom was well-lit, so he couldn't quite tell.

Upon hearing this, Ran Mouri immediately remembered something and quickly reported, "Oh, right, there's a flashlight inside that's turned on!"

Kogoro Mouri is usually unreliable, but when it comes to his family, his intelligence suddenly shines through: "The sudden power outage must have been caused by the culprit. This way, it wouldn't be noticeable when the lights are on, but once the lights are off, you'd see the light in the cabinet. If we also take out the flashlight, the culprit can easily spot your location in the dark..."

At this point, he suddenly seemed puzzled: "Hmm? If that's the case, why is the flashlight still inside?"

Ran Mouri explained, "Officer Sato said to leave it as it is, so we closed the door again."

"I see." Inspector Megure breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily, the criminal didn't rush over and attack at that moment..."

Ran Mouri shook her head: "No, the lights are all on. If the prisoner came in then, his face would definitely be seen."

"……Um?!"

Everyone was nodding when they suddenly realized something was wrong.

Conan Edogawa couldn't help but ask directly, "Ran-neechan, how did you think of looking in the cabinet when the lights were on? You shouldn't have been able to tell there was a flashlight inside."

They're not as short as him, so they wouldn't be blinded by the light from a flashlight shining through the gaps at certain angles. This behavior seems a bit strange when it happens to Ran Mouri and Miwako Sato.

"Um..." Ran Mouri was also a little confused, scratching her cheek with her index finger, "It was Mr. Kankawa who asked me to check the bathroom cabinets, so..."

Everyone: "Huh???"

Because he was a doctor, he was called over and happened to overhear Ran Mouri's explanation. Kyosuke Kazato: "???"

What does this mean? Why did Hanakawa Shinryu so precisely direct someone into the women's restroom to check the lockers...?

Just how much does Hanchuan Shenliu know about his plans?! Why is he suddenly trying to trip him up?!

Upon hearing this, even Chief Detective Odagiri couldn't help but frown: "Where is Hanchuan now?"

Inspector Megure quickly said, "Hagiwara went to inspect the power distribution room, and Kagawa probably went with him."

"...Find someone to call him back."

Inspector Megure glanced to the side, and Wataru Takagi instinctively snapped to attention: "Yes, sir!"

In fact, Wataru Takagi was still worried about Miwako Sato. He had just come in and saw Miwako Sato collapse, which almost scared him sick.

Takagi Wataru hardened his heart, determined to find the murderer, otherwise, if the murderer knew that Sato Miwako was not dead, he might continue to kill her!

Thinking this, Takagi Wataru ran to the power distribution room and found Hagiwara Kenji and Kazukawa Shinryu walking back while chatting.

"Kanakawa-senpai! Hagiwara-senpai!" Takagi Wataru rushed over. "Inspector Megure and Chief Odagiri are looking for Kanakawa-senpai."

Kenji Hagiwara didn't think much of it. After all, the First Investigation Division often sought help from Shinryu Kagawa, so it was normal for them to want a quick resolution given the current situation. However, he still asked, "What happened during the power outage?"

“Yes.” Takagi Wataru’s face darkened. “Ms. Sato has been attacked.”

"What?!" Kenji Hagiwara's expression changed instantly. Considering that the two detectives who had been attacked earlier were dead, he quickly asked, "Is Sato alright?"

“It didn’t hit any vital organs, but he hit his head and has already been sent for emergency treatment,” Takagi Wataru replied.

"So it was a gun... Then we need to do a gunpowder reaction test as soon as possible." Kenji Hagiwara frowned.

Takagi Wataru replied, "Everything is arranged. The Metropolitan Police Department personnel will arrive shortly. We're calling for Senpai Kankawa now mainly to ask him why he knew in advance that there was a flashlight in the bathroom cabinet."

Hagihara Kenji: "...?"

I don't understand. What is all this nonsense? Does the flashlight have anything to do with Officer Sato being attacked?

Although he still didn't understand, Kenji Hagiwara had already habitually turned to ask Shinryu Kagawa, "What did you find out this time? Why didn't you tell me?"

Han Chuan Shenliu calmly said, "I'm not sure, and you can't get into the women's restroom anyway, so there's no point in telling you."

Hagihara Kenji: "…………"

Ah... well, that reason is... no, I almost got fooled by Shinryu. Is there any necessary connection between him not being able to enter the women's restroom and not being told anything to him?!

Seeing that Kenji Hagiwara was about to speak again, Wataru Takagi smiled wryly: "Well, everyone's still waiting..."

Kenji Hagiwara sighed, "Alright, let's hurry up and go."

The group walked to the outside of the women's restroom. After all, the room was still leaking and it was the scene of the attack, so it was best for people to leave as soon as possible.

Upon seeing Shinryu Kagawa, Inspector Megure waved to him: "Kakawa-kun, you're finally here! And Hagiwara-kun, how's the power distribution room?"

Although Kenji Hagiwara is now a member of the First Investigation Division, he was once a bomb expert in the Explosives Disposal Unit. With him around, it saves us from waiting for other experts to come up with a conclusion.

“It was probably a device that detonated via a cell phone,” Kenji Hagiwara said. “But the phone was destroyed and cannot be recovered, and we can’t find the caller ID… although I think even if we could find it, it would just be a fake number.”

"Hmm." Inspector Megure nodded, then asked, "So, Mr. Kankawa, why did you suddenly think of having Ran check the lockers in the women's restroom?"

Kyosuke Kazato, the psychologist who was conducting psychological tests on Ran Mouri to see if she would suffer any lasting effects, couldn't help but prick up his ears.

Yes! Why?! No one must have noticed when he left the flashlight behind. How did Hanchuan Shenliu come up with his plan?! What was he thinking? Was he planning to sabotage his plan?!