"Is this cross the cute symbol that you mentioned in class, Ms. Judy?"

As soon as Ran finished speaking, not only did Jodie and Sonoko laugh, but Kousuke couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"No, no, I assure you, it's definitely not that X."

Sonoko, rubbing her stomach which was almost sore from laughing, said to Ran.

Takagi, who was discussing the case nearby, suddenly turned around and asked, "Is the 'X' you were talking about just now the one women often write at the end of their letters...?"

The three of them understood and nodded.

"Officer Takagi, it seems you receive letters like this quite often, don't you?"

Sonoko crossed her arms and looked at Takagi with a gossipy expression.

"It was all a prank!"

Takagi scratched his head; he didn't want to tell the others the truth.

What do you mean by X?

Inspector Megure looked at Takagi and asked in confusion.

Takagi chuckled awkwardly twice: "It's nothing, the X we're talking about has absolutely nothing to do with this case."

Inspector Megure suddenly glanced at the escalator that had started and Kouyu pressing the switch next to it. He quickly stepped forward, pulled Kouyu away, and asked, "Kouyu, kids shouldn't be moving around here!"

"No, there's still a little blood next to the circle on the document bag. I suspect the deceased drew it on the escalator step because of the critical situation."

Inspector Megure released his grip on Kousuke's hand, thought for a moment, and nodded: "That is indeed possible. The elevator was in operation just now, and the step with the graphic might be on the other side."

Sonoko asked, "It's been running for so long, even if there was any, it should have been worn away by now."

"That's alright, we can use some special methods to make the blood glow."

Takagi turned his head and explained to Sonoko.

Conan tugged at Takagi and whispered in his ear, "Officer Takagi, what exactly does this 'X' you guys are talking about mean?"

Seeing that Takagi seemed confused, Conan glanced around to make sure no one had heard, and then asked, "Is it the one Sonoko-neechan was talking about earlier?"

Takagi then realized what was happening, laughed a few times, and patted Conan's head: "You don't need to know so much right now, you're just a kid."

Conan felt helpless, but his curiosity about X grew stronger.

He couldn't very well just say he was Shinichi Kudo.

On the other side, the police found a square shape.

At this point, all four shapes have been found.

"Inspector Megure, could these four symbols be names?"

Inspector Megure chuckled and shook his head: "That person's name wouldn't be something like 'square circle cross triangle,' it's unlikely."

Kōyū looked at Inspector Megure with a puzzled expression and asked, "The criminal shouldn't have the time to write his name stroke by stroke, right?"

Inspector Megure thought about it seriously for a moment and nodded: "Indeed, if it were me, I would simplify that person's name as much as possible."

"Just like how Professor Agasa often writes Ali's mouth as a circle," Conan added.

After hearing this, Inspector Megure suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.

"Takagi, go upstairs and guard all the exits with Officer Chiba. No matter who it is, don't let them out!"

After Takagi went upstairs, Inspector Megure was sweating profusely.

He held the list in his hand, his palms slightly damp: "I've seen that name, but who is it?"

Seeing his expression, Guangyou knew that the matter was over.

The paper had the names of fifty-eight people written on it. If you put them together, it would be easy to get overwhelmed if you had to search for them in such a hurry.

After searching three or four times, Inspector Megure finally found the name he was looking for among the many names: Kuniyoshi Bunta.

"Officer Takagi just told me what X means."

Ran stood with her hands on her hips, blushing as she looked at Sonoko and Judy.

"If I ask Shinichi that, even if he knows, he won't tell me."

Sonoko chuckled awkwardly and waved her hand, "Impossible. If that blockhead could figure things out on his own, I'd eat all my carpets."

Conan has disappeared without us noticing. The best way to find him is to wait where you are.

After this incident, the tea shop is preparing to pack up and close down.

Before the shop closed, Kōyū quickly grabbed a glass of iced tea to go, so he could kill some time while waiting for Conan.

Xiaolan lingered in place, her expression conflicted.

"Sister Xiaolan, what are you thinking about?"

Koyu's sudden question made Ran blush instantly. She shouted at Koyu, embarrassed and annoyed, "Go drink your tea! Kids shouldn't ask so many questions!"

"Hehe, kid, you finally got your comeuppance."

Yuanzi watched the commotion from the sidelines, laughing as if she didn't want things to get out of hand.

"I'm back."

Conan, carrying his schoolbag, wore an innocent and harmless smile.

"Is Inspector Megure's situation over yet?"

Even without Conan saying anything, Sonoko already guessed that Conan had gone upstairs to watch the arrest of the criminal.

Conan nodded: "Yes, now the police are preparing to take the criminal out through the back door."

After hesitating for a moment, Conan asked Sonoko shyly, "Sonoko-neechan, what does the 'X' you're talking about mean?"

Sonoko winked at him: "If you want to know, just ask Ran."

Sonoko pointed to Ran, who was texting not far away, and said, "Look, Ran is texting over there."

Without thinking twice, Conan walked straight to Ran and asked, "Ran-neechan, can you tell me what X means?"

Xiaolan's face was visibly flushed; those words were words she had only managed to muster the courage to say to Shinichi after much deliberation.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!