Chapter 227, Seventy-Third Cycle (57)

It's 7:30 p.m.

"Mr. Matsuda!" Conan Edogawa was overjoyed when he saw the young man in sunglasses, and immediately ran over with his skateboard. "Mr. Matsuda, there's a bomb here!!!"

Matsuda Jinpei was squatting in front of a fire extinguisher box, a small flashlight between his teeth, and mumbled without turning his head, "I know, they're defusing it, aren't they? This is a C4 bomb, they're really something."

Conan Edogawa squatted down next to him to observe, holding a flashlight for him to shine, while also exchanging information.

Conan Edogawa: "Are you alone, Mr. Matsuda?"

Matsuda Jinpei: "Hagi will be here later to help defuse the bomb."

Conan Edogawa: "How's the evacuation of the tourists going?"

Matsuda Jinpei: "With the squad leader in charge, there's definitely no problem... Hey, hey, hey, when did I become your subordinate? Hmm? The savior of the police?"

Conan Edogawa turned his head awkwardly: "Ahahaha, I'm just very worried. The main thing is that the FBI I know is also involved in the operation. It's just that I don't want to reveal my identity for personal reasons."

Matsuda Jinpei: "You're still on the FBI's side, you brat, what country are you even from?"

Conan Edogawa gave him a deadpan look: "You have the nerve to say that? If you hadn't been lying to me and keeping things from me all this time, would I have gone to the FBI?"

Matsuda Jinpei chuckled and naturally changed the subject: "Don't worry, we don't need the FBI. Everything's already arranged outside. We just need to deal with the bombs here and that big thing in the sky."

Conan Edogawa asked astutely, "Mr. Matsuda, do you know what that is?"

Matsuda Jinpei took off his sunglasses and hung them around his neck. He had already removed the outermost layer of the trap and began to dismantle the inner starter.

“Hmm, a V-22 tiltrotor aircraft, nicknamed the Osprey, a genuine war machine.” He clicked his tongue. “It’s really exaggerated. I never thought I would see one of those things in this city. The police don’t dare to confront it directly for the time being. This has alerted the military.”

But judging from your expression, you don't seem scared at all. On the contrary, you seem excited, as if you want to rush over and snatch the thing back to study it yourself.

Conan Edogawa mentally scoffed, then his expression turned serious as countless possibilities flashed through his mind: "How should we deal with this?"

Matsuda Jinpei turned his head, made a shooting gesture with his hand, and laughed, "It'll be fine once it's shot down."

Conan Edogawa was taken aback: "Can an osprey be shot down?"

Matsuda Jinpei looked at him and said, "Top snipers are fine, like that FBI ace, Shuichi Akai."

Conan Edogawa: "..."

Conan Edogawa knew that half of his identity had been exposed after the Hokkaido snow mountain incident, especially since he helped Shuichi Akai fake his death. It was normal for people to guess that he was still in contact with Shuichi Akai, but he was still caught off guard and startled when he said it so directly.

"That FBI agent you mentioned who didn't want to reveal his identity, is he him?" Matsuda Jinpei said casually. "Alright, go find him. I'll take care of the bombs here."

Conan Edogawa said "okay" and handed the flashlight back to him, but when he turned around, he saw Kenji Hagiwara running towards him.

A man with slightly long black hair held up his phone and shouted angrily, "Jinpei! Furuya and Shuichi Akai are fighting on the Ferris wheel!"

Conan Edogawa: "?"

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

Matsuda Jinpei held out his hand: "Let me see."

Kenji Hagiwara handed him his phone, and Jinpei Matsuda saw the details posted by Kagemitsu Morofushi in the cherry blossom group, and immediately laughed in exasperation.

"At such a critical moment, he actually had the leisure and the guts to fight the FBI on the top of a skyscraper without any protective measures. That blond bastard is really something."

Conan Edogawa tried his best to stand on tiptoe to see.

Matsuda Jinpei turned off the phone and handed it back to Hagiwara Kenji, then rolled up his sleeves and walked upstairs: "I'm going to bring him back."

Kenji Hagiwara quickly grabbed him: "Forget it, if Jinpei goes, he'll just join them and the three of them will end up fighting indiscriminately. I'll go instead."

Conan Edogawa: "..."

I feel like I can somewhat imagine their life at the police academy.

Conan Edogawa sighed, "I'll go instead. Mr. Matsuda and Mr. Hagiwara will stay here to defuse the bomb. I'll go and bring them back."

After indicating that he would be careful, Conan Edogawa grabbed his skateboard and started running uphill.

But before he could get up there, the two of them fell straight down.

And they kept fighting even after they fell down.

To be precise, it was Rei Furuya who was angrily launching attacks, while Shuichi Akai was retaliating while also trying to appease him, saying that he knew he was wrong and apologized, so please stop fighting.

Conan Edogawa: "..."

What happened? What exactly did Mr. Akai do? This was the first time he had ever seen Mr. Amuro so angry.

If even someone as good-natured as Mr. Amuro got angry, it must be something serious, right?

"Mr. Amuro! Mr. Akai! Stop hitting him!"

But whatever it is, it doesn't matter right now!

"There are so many bombs down there!!!"

The two, who were about to clash again, paused.

Conan Edogawa rushed over: "It's C4 bombs, so many! Mr. Matsuda and Mr. Hagiwara probably won't have time to defused them all, and Gin and the others brought Ospreys!"

Rei Furuya turned his gaze back to Shuichi Akai, his fist still clenched tightly. He wanted to punch him a few more times in the face and knock out a tooth before he was satisfied, but he was also a little worried about the bomb and was already thinking of giving up.

Shuichi Akai withdrew from his defensive stance and didn't dare to say anything more, only shaking his head slightly to indicate that now was not the time to fight.

Furuya Rei gritted his teeth, lowered his fist, and took a deep breath: "I don't have that kind of relationship with Scotland. Those are all rumors and acting. Don't think or talk nonsense anymore, or I'll definitely make you pay later."

Shuichi Akai said, "I understand, but if you two aren't in that kind of relationship, why would he care so much about you and help you? What kind of relationship do you two have that would cause him to..."

He parried the blond youth's punch again, and this time he really shut up.

Okay, fine, if you don't want to say, then don't. Anyway, the facts are there, we'll investigate and research it next time.

Conan Edogawa ran over and overheard some of the details. His expression changed slightly, but before the blond youth could turn around, he quickly tidied himself up and looked up at them seriously to explain the current situation.

After hearing this, Furuya Rei decided to go back with him to defuse the bomb.

Shuichi Akai assembled his sniper rifle: "I'll go up there and keep an eye on Gin and the others."

He won't go over there. With them there, they can definitely defuse the bomb, but if he goes over, he'll probably become the bomb himself.

Shuichi Akai glanced around at Rei Furuya and noticed that his original bag was missing, so he tossed his own bag to him: "There are bomb disposal tools inside. Make sure to disarm the bomb as soon as possible."

"Ha, easy for you to say." Furuya Rei caught the bag and couldn't help but retort.

Fearing they would start fighting again, Conan Edogawa quickly tugged at Rei Shiruya's sleeve and urged, "Mr. Amuro, let's go back and defuse the bomb. There's no time. I suspect the organization will make their move when the Ferris wheel on Curaçao reaches its highest point, and we only have five minutes left."

"It's okay. They should cut off the power when the Ferris wheel in Curaçao reaches its highest point, stopping it there. They'll use the aircraft's mechanical claws to grab the gondola before detonating the bomb to destroy any traces. There's still time, don't rush."

Rei Furuya, carrying his bag, walked down with him and reminded him, "We'll handle the bomb. But you, Conan, I think I saw Ms. Ran and the children riding the other half of the Ferris wheel before I came up. I wonder what's going on now. Don't you need to contact them?"

Conan Edogawa was taken aback, then hurriedly grabbed his phone and ran away.

Rei Furuya breathed a sigh of relief.

He'll definitely get scolded if he goes back now; it's best if the kids don't see that scene.

Now let him think of a way to argue his way out.

*

7:37 PM.

"Bang!"

A public security officer named Kazami Yuya slammed his head against the glass wall of the cabin and passed out.

Curaçao pulled her leg back, searched his body for his phone, and dialed Vermouth's number.

The call was answered quickly.

“Vermouth, it’s me, Curaçao.” She introduced herself first, then walked to the window and looked at the world below the Ferris wheel.

"I knew you'd regained your memory. You were just faking a headache to fool that policeman, weren't you?" Vermouth laughed on the other end of the phone. "Since you'd already regained your memory, were the emails you sent to Scotland later also genuine? Weren't Bourbon and Kiel undercover agents?"

“Hmm,” Curaçao said, looking down at the white dolphin pendant on her hand, her eyes flickering slightly.

No, she actually regained her memory just after seeing the five-color light show at the amusement park. The email that was sent later saying that Bourbon and Kiel were not undercover agents was not sent by her.

But it could only have been the kids who took her phone and sent that email.

She didn't even think much before instinctively covering it up, only realizing what she had done afterward.

She betrayed the organization.

"Alright, it's good that you're alright." Vermouth said, "Stay where you are. Gin is here to pick you up. We'll talk about the details when we get back to the organization."

Curaçao said "okay," hung up the phone, gripped the white dolphin tightly, and then lifted it up again after a few seconds.

The music playing in the amusement park was incredibly cheerful.

People chatted and played on the brightly lit ground, while pure white dolphins swam freely in the dark yet colorful night sky.

Curaçao, her name is Curaçao, she is Curaçao who can turn into any color.

She had forgotten her original name, but remembered things she shouldn't have known. She was originally going to be executed by Vermouth. Later, she was brainwashed by Rum and became the pure black Curaçao, becoming Rum's confidante and willing to do anything for him.

After Rum's death, she continued to work for the organization with Scotland, without any difference in how things were done.

If she continues to sit here, she'll probably have to go back to the organization.

Return to that dark abyss.

Then, the pure white dolphin will be dyed black again, so that the children who gave it to her with smiles will no longer recognize it, nor dare to recognize it.

Suddenly, all the lights in the amusement park went out, and the vibrant colors were gradually swallowed by darkness until everything was completely dark.

Curaçao had never found the darkness so unbearable.

She took a deep breath, suddenly got up, pushed open the hatch above, and climbed out.

The wind was strong outside, and Curaçao felt more free than ever before.

She clutched the white dolphin pendant tightly, laughed, and jumped down.

Curaçao felt like she was going crazy.

But she was originally Curaçao, who could transform into any color.

After this bout of amnesia, she seemed to have completely broken free from Rum's brainwashing and regained her freedom.

For the first time, she felt so clear-headed.

During the pure white period after losing her memory, the few short hours she spent with those children were the brightest, happiest, and most carefree time of her life so far.

From this moment forward, she wants to become a pure white Curaçao.

Therefore, she cannot return to the organization's dark abyss.

She wanted to escape.

*

Curaçao met Sherry on the road.

Yes, it was Sherry who had shrunk. She recognized her instantly after regaining her memories.

"Don't be afraid, I'm just like you."

She grabbed the hand of the terrified little girl and pulled her back from the cliff.

"Sherry, let's run away together."

*

Curaçao originally intended to escape with Sherry.

This place is about to become a battlefield destroyed by the organization.

She knew what kind of person Gin was; after discovering her defection, he would be furious and ruthless enough to destroy the entire Ferris wheel and make it her final resting place.

But Sherry... no, the little girl now called Ai Haibara said that the children are still on the Ferris wheel.

After regaining her memories, Curaço took the initiative to become the pure white Curaço for the first time. She didn't have much experience and only knew that she had to save people.

Even though the organization has discovered her defection, they are angrily strafing her with armed helicopters.

She is also protecting those children in her own way.

The organization's current goal is to kill her, so as long as we lure the organization's people away, the children will be safe once she's dead.

But Curaçao didn't want to die. In the short five minutes she had been running away, she had thought countless times about what life would be like for the pure white Curaçao.

She wanted to become a kindergarten teacher so she could see children's smiling faces every day.

While teaching and protecting children as they grow, she also wants to learn to be an ordinary person living in the sunshine.

She looks forward to that kind of future.

Curaçao has never been afraid of death.

But she doesn't want to die now.

She had never wanted to live as much as she did now.

Perhaps it was a strong will to survive.

Even though Curaçao fell from a great height into the water, had a steel bar pierce her abdomen, and was violently struck in the back while in the water, she still managed to stay conscious.

She barely managed to climb to the shore, her strength almost completely depleted, when a huge wave crashed in, nearly pulling her back into the water.

But a hand gripped her tightly.

Curaçao looked up and saw a face that wasn't unfamiliar.

It's Akemi Miyano, Sherry's older sister, a traitor to the organization who should have died at Gin's hands long ago.

However, the man was now holding her hand, just as she had held his sister before, pulling her up from the cliff, and then giving her a bright smile.

“Curaçao, let’s run away together,” Akemi Miyano said to her.