Chapter 2, Chapter 2: If O tells you to jump off the train, will you jump?

Youth has no price; risk your life now.

"0 7:5 0:12"

The countdown timer below the navigation words ticked silently, while Zhuge Tongzhi tried her best to minimize her presence, moving discreetly along the blue and white arrows. The navigation icons moved in real time to guide her.

Although the arrow ultimately points to the gun in the robber's hand, the route given by the navigation is not a straight line between two points taking the shortest distance. Instead, it leads her towards Ayumi Yoshida in the crowd.

Fortunately, the black-haired girl, though short, was agile enough. She took advantage of the moment when the robber turned his back to her, crouched down, and rushed forward quickly, like someone who was late to the movie theater, and swiftly passed through the group of adults.

As the robber turned around, she sat down on the spot and began to crawl forward, using the backs of the adults on either side as cover. She was neither grateful for military training nor for the physical fitness test for college students. She quickly completed half of the journey.

"Continue at your current speed; you may proceed through the intersection on a green light."

The negotiations between the slender man and the police were not going well, and the man began to hiss in a low voice into the phone.

What green light? This is a shopping mall.

Unaware of what was happening, Zhuge Tongzhi took advantage of the moment when the burly robber turned his head, grabbed his left arm and rolled on the ground. With his hands on the ground, his black hair flew to one side as he moved, and he came to a very cool stop next to Yoshida Ayumi.

At the same time, the traffic lights on the opposite toy store changed from red to green and flashed briefly.

Zhuge Tongzhi understood what traffic lights were all about.

"0 5 :1 9 :2 1"

Upon reaching Ayumi's side, all the navigation icons that had been displayed disappeared, leaving only a location icon fixed on the gun in the big guy's hand, without giving any further instructions.

Should she figure it out herself...?

So, how can you approach a robber safely and legitimately?

As Zhuge Tongzhi pondered, he sat up and suddenly caught a glimpse of another figure moving toward him out of the corner of his eye.

The bespectacled boy who had just been pushed away now had a serious expression. He was half-crouched and looked at the robbers from the side. He seized the moment when the two were talking and rushed towards them. Two bright white reflections appeared on his glasses.

Zhuge Tongzhi felt a flash of white light. After squinting and opening her eyes again, the bespectacled boy made a cool slide and stopped just beside her. He squatted down, turned his head, and gave Yoshida Ayumi a reassuring smile.

The short-haired girl responded with a relaxed smile, and the two clearly knew each other.

But—Zhuge Tongzhi looked up at the overhead light, which was very far away—it was strange. There was no direct light source around, so why were the child's glasses so brightly reflective?

Is this Ke Xue?

"Conan, where did you just run off to?" Ayumi Yoshida's lively voice rang out in her ear like a thunderclap.

Zhuge Tongzhi's body suddenly stiffened.

"I just went to find some tools," a familiar voice, evoking childhood memories, replied calmly.

The bespectacled boy, who was called Conan, adjusted his glasses and looked at the girl next to him who suddenly seemed to be in a daze.

When he was kidnapped along with the crowd, he deduced from the kidnappers' packages and his limited experience that they were likely carrying bombs.

So he quietly slipped into the tool shed next door and stealthily searched for any useful tools.

But just as he managed to touch the bomb without alerting the robbers and was about to examine it, the girl in front of him pushed him away.

Moreover, this person not only pushed him away, but also quickly and skillfully removed the detonator from the bomb as if unpacking a package, his methods both chaotic and frighteningly practiced.

Did she also study in Hawaii?

Conan's glasses flashed with an inexplicable white light again as he pondered. Do elementary school students these days know how to defuse bombs?

Over here, Ayumi Yoshida was still excitedly chattering, "Let me tell you, Conan, just now, Genta, this guy, and I..."

Just as she was about to share how they worked together to defuse the bomb, the girl suddenly realized that she didn't know the stranger's name and looked at Zhuge Tongzhi with a questioning gaze.

Under the gazes of the two men, Zhuge Tongzhi stubbornly refused to move for a moment.

As if preparing herself mentally, the black-haired, black-eyed girl paused for a moment before slowly turning around, her body clicking like a robot's joints rusting, and looking at Conan with a complex and earnest gaze.

With black hair and blue eyes, wearing a classic blue children's suit with a red bow tie, and short legs that are now crossed under dark blue shorts, revealing a corner of white sneakers covered in mud, the child is now looking at himself calmly while wearing reflective glasses.

Alas, my life is over.

So it turns out it wasn't that we're no longer in the country, family; it's just that we've moved to a different dimension.

She belatedly realized that Yoshida Ayumi and Kojima Genta were actually names she was so familiar with that she had almost forgotten them, but the addition of their surnames made them seem unfamiliar.

Zhuge Tongzhi resignedly closed his eyes tightly, looked up and smiled at Professor Agasa, who had been watching them kindly beside Ayumi, and got up to make room for Conan.

Three elementary school students hid behind Professor Agasa's round figure, forming a circle with their heads close together.

"Hello, I am Zhuge Tongzhi."

As she gradually became more proficient at introducing herself in Japanese, Zhuge Tongzhi thought with a wry smile that probably no one would find her name funny anymore. "You can call me Zhuge (しょかつShokatsu)."

Thanks to the built-in voice pack download of the navigation system, Zhuge Tongzhi, who originally only spoke Chinese and English and whose English-language built-in system was half-paralyzed, can now fluently give the Romanized pronunciation of his name, complete with appropriate titles.

'Zhuge'? Conan stroked his chin. It was a very uncommon surname in Japan, and it reminded people of Zhuge Liang, the famous strategist of the Three Kingdoms period in China.

He introduced himself to the somewhat mysterious girl, saying, "Hello, I'm Conan Edogawa."

"Yes, of course I know who you are," Zhuge Tongzhi said, rubbing his temples in pain as he looked helplessly at the innocent-looking little boy in front of him.

"Hello, Edogawa." She responded politely, following Japanese custom by addressing a stranger.

But I really know you very well.

You, the three-headed Grim Reaper elementary school student who gave me countless childhood traumas, is proficient in thousands of murder methods and alibi forgery techniques, has a 100% answer-guaranteed questioning skill, and has remained unchanged for decades.

Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the fake child she knew who had 'killed' the most, and added.

It was through countless separations and misunderstandings in the world of anime that I learned to uphold justice and love as a great detective.

"We just defused a bomb with Zhuge!" Ayumi Yoshida exclaimed, her voice barely concealing her excitement. "Zhuge is amazing! He can defuse bombs just like Conan!"

“That bomb was very crude; I’ve seen it in bomb disposal brochures.” Zhuge Tongzhi racked his brains to come up with a barely plausible excuse, glanced at the countdown, and changed the subject. “By the way, did you hear their negotiations with the police?”

"0 2 : 2 3 : 1 1"

"Yes, they demanded that the police provide them with a car and not prevent them from leaving. As long as their demands were met, they would leave us here safely."

Yoshida Ayumi quietly reported the task that Zhuge Tongzhi had just given her, "A lot of detectives have come outside, and officers from the explosives disposal unit have also come. It's the first time I've ever seen anything like this."

Although the Junior Detective League had encountered many bombs before, those bombs either exploded before the police arrived, were dismantled by Conan, or went up into the sky with a soccer ball.

"Yes, if there's a bomb here, professional police officers will naturally handle it."

Unconsciously, Conan, who had taken over too much bomb disposal work, casually remarked that he was thinking about something else.

How can the kidnappers ensure that the police will not prevent them from leaving after they have released the hostages?

"They're lying, they won't leave everyone here."

The girl with black hair and black eyes beside them pointed out that the robbers' thoughts were not secret. She tilted her head and glanced at the big guy walking towards them, and quickened her pace of speech.

"Their plan was to place most of the hostages next to the bomb disposal unit, force the police to fulfill their demands and let them go, and then use the hostages to threaten the police after the bomb disposal team had defused the bomb."

Indeed, Conan nodded to himself. Now it was time to choose one as a hostage.

"0 1 : 0 9 : 5 2"

"The hostages you bring with you must be weak and obedient enough," Zhuge Tongzhi added.

Conan's eyes flashed as he spotted the burly robber walking straight toward them, or rather, toward Ayumi among them.

Before he could react and act, Zhuge Tongzhi suddenly shoved the still-unresponsive Ayumi. The little girl fell along the navigation line to the other side of Professor Agasa's chubby body, avoiding the big robber's line of sight.

At the same time, the black-haired girl who had stayed behind burst into tears in an instant, sobbing and half-lying on the ground, murmuring softly, "I'm so scared, waaaah, I want to go home... I want my dad, cough, my mom..."

The hostages carried must also be large enough to deter the police from taking any rash actions.

Moreover, it's best to have a child who is emotionally unstable and unable to cooperate.

Zhuge Tongzhi's sudden crying and coughing drew the big guy's attention.

He decisively abandoned his original goal, strode towards the girl who was retreating in fear, and reached out to grab her.

"0 0 :0 0 :0 1"

etc!

Having figured out what Zhuge Tongzhi was up to, Conan pounced on her without hesitation, trying to get the big guy's attention and take her place as a hostage.

Seeing Conan's movement out of the corner of his eye, Zhuge Tongzhi, who was originally waiting for the big guy to come and pick up the goods, decisively pushed himself up and left his original position.

The girl appeared terrified and ran in a panic, heading in the opposite direction from where Conan was attacking, trying to escape the big guy's capture.

But how could a child's legs compare to an adult's? The big guy took a few steps forward, stretched out his long arm, grabbed Zhuge Tongzhi's left arm, pulled the child up, and threatened him fiercely: "Don't move, kid, or I'll make you regret it."

"0 0 :0 0 :0 0"

"Please continue along the current route and lock onto the target."

The navigation system, having detected the countdown's end, refreshed its message, displaying a smaller navigation icon pointing to the pistol in the big guy's hand.

The opaque equipment suddenly appeared to Zhuge Tongzhi as a semi-transparent assembly of parts, with blue and white arrows clearly showing her how to quickly lock the gun.

Zhuge Tongzhi, who was being lifted up by his left hand, showed no sign of pain, lowered his head and sobbed, giving up his resistance.

Ugh, why is it her left hand again?! That huge hood is on the back of her head, and those black stockings make her lose her mind and her sight, right?

With her left arm being pulled hard for the second time, Zhuge Tongzhi cursed silently with a distorted expression. She raised her head and gently shook her head at Conan, who was looking at her with great anxiety.

She glanced at the hostage marked by a navigation icon behind Conan, then her gaze swept over him before focusing on Conan.

The girl with black hair and black eyes looked into Conan's sapphire-blue eyes and silently and slowly mouthed what he was saying.

Edo-Kawa

I am an orphan. I don't want to die.

I want to go home.

Conan: ?

Zhuge, are you leaving your last words?

Then you shouldn't have stopped him from lunging at him!

The tall, thin man on the phone shouted at the police not to do anything in the car, while gesturing for the short, muscular man who was collecting jewelry to follow.

Zhuge Tongzhi was carried by the big guy and walked with the three of them towards the mall entrance. Through the glass door, the figures of police officers in uniform could be vaguely seen.

Conan sat back down on the ground, his heart still pounding, but his brain was racing, trying to process what Zhuge Tongzhi had just said.

First, rule out entrusting one's children to others or seeking help.

But why say you're an orphan?

The sound of a car starting came from outside the door, and then a team of police officers in bomb suits rushed in and surrounded the bomb. Officer Sato and her colleagues, whom they knew well, came in and began to evacuate the crowd in an orderly manner.

Conan followed the flow of people out of the mall. Looking around, he saw a black car suddenly driving and about to turn on the traffic barrier in front of the mall.

Inspector Megure appeared to be signaling his men to drive the prepared private car after them, but a middle-aged man suddenly jumped out from the crowd, grabbed his arm, and blocked half of the departing car with his body.

"My daughter! My daughter has been kidnapped!"

The middle-aged man, in a fit of rage, shook off the police officer who was trying to stop him and cried out in anguish, "Officer! Officer, you must bring my daughter back safely!"

Conan's eyes sharpened. Just now, when Zhuge was lip-syncing, this middle-aged man was sitting next to him.

No wonder Zhuge Liang spoke that way.

Seeing that the police were being held back by the middle-aged man, Conan pulled out his skateboard from his backpack, seized the opportunity to bypass the police maintaining order, quickly ran into the alley next to him, and jumped onto the skateboard after a few steps of propulsion.

The built-in booster instantly propelled the skateboard to a terrifying speed. Conan lowered his center of gravity to maintain balance and skillfully maneuvered the skateboard through the alley.

He had just observed the robbers' clothing and accessories.

The boy's clever mind quickly filtered through the details observed by his eyes.

Despite their faces being obscured, they all wore ornaments with the same design on their waists, wrists, and tattoos. The designs on those ornaments belonged to an illegal cult that the police had recently dismantled.

Conan only learned this from an old lady he met on the street this morning.

The remnants of the cult are still active in the area, and the police are about to sweep through this block.

At the same time, since the vehicles provided by the police will have their own markings even if they do not have license plates, they will inevitably return to the base and change their appearance.

And that cult's activity area is right there!

He quickly pinpointed the location the robbers were heading to in his mind and soon determined the direction.

Conan maneuvered his skateboard around the various debris piled up in the alley, and as he rushed out of the wall and onto the road, he indeed saw the familiar black car's rear end ahead.

He trailed far behind the car, pondering rescue methods.

…

Inside the mall lobby, riot police formed the center.

"ha?"

The bomb disposal officer, dressed in a full bomb suit, yanked off his helmet, revealing a head of black, naturally curly hair and a handsome but grumpy face.

The man held the connected phone to his ear, then incredulously pinched the already extinguished screen of the bomb. "They just used a powered-on screen to disguise a bomb?"

"Hey, it's rare for Jinpei to be willing to go on fieldwork for me. It turns out it's a fake bomb?"

A male voice feigning surprise came from the other end of the phone, unusually referring to his friend as "sauce."

"No, I think the bomb has been defused, but perhaps to avoid attracting the attention of the robbers, they only powered on the screen."

The curly-haired man, who couldn't find the detonator, frowned, gestured to his colleagues, and then walked out of the mall first.

The man quickly recited a series of numbers, then turned his head and said to the person in the earpiece, "The bomb models look familiar, don't they? We just defused a large batch of them a while ago."

"I've finished dealing with things here and I'm on my way to your place now." The person on the other end of the phone quickly understood what he meant. The man hesitated for a moment, "I originally thought I could just pick you up for dinner, but it seems you have a new job, right?"

"I'm so tired—I don't want to work overtime anymore."

"Hagi, no skipping work."

The curly-haired man looked at the detective from the First Investigation Division who was still being harassed by the middle-aged man, raised an eyebrow, took a few steps forward, twisted the middle-aged man's arm, and pinned him to the ground. He then tilted his head, held the phone between his fingers, and lazily spoke to his friend.

"And it's perfect that you're driving right now."

"Yes, sir! I'm ready to receive Commander Matsuda's orders at any moment!" Kenji Hagiwara replied, feigning seriousness.

"Hey, officer, you can't treat citizens like that!" A policeman from the First Investigation Division frantically waved his hands and stepped forward to persuade them, knowing that such rough behavior would result in complaints.

Before the words were even finished, a police officer from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, dressed in a bomb suit, rushed out of the mall and shouted in a shrill voice even before he arrived:

"No—no—Captain Matsuda, Commander Takahashi said you can't treat ordinary citizens like this anymore!"

The single word "again" revealed everything; all the police officers from the First Investigative Division were giving this man named Matsuda Jinpei a sidelong glance.

What exactly did the bomb disposal officers, who rarely interact with the public, do to receive such instructions from their superiors?

But Matsuda Jinpei ignored their advice and instead loudly called for Inspector Megure without any respectful address.

He forcefully controlled the middle-aged man's head with one hand, forcibly showing the tattoo on the side of his neck to the puzzled Inspector Megure, "This is the emblem of the previous Koki Cult."

“I remember there’s a location in this neighborhood that you found, right?”

Matsuda Jinpei handed the middle-aged man over to the belatedly realizing police officer, picked up the phone tucked under his shoulder, and randomly asked a nearby member of the First Investigation Division, "Hello, what kind of car was that with the hostage?"

When Sato Miwako returned after evacuating everyone, she was taken aback by the question.

Seeing the impatient look on her colleague's face, the policewoman quickly gave him the address and the markings the police had made on the car, which Matsuda Jinpei then relayed to the person on the other end of the phone.

Ah, there's nothing more he can do. Matsuda Jinpei hung up the phone and told the other person to drive carefully. Just as he was about to habitually take out his sunglasses and put them on, he looked up and met Sato Miwako's probing gaze.

He thought for a moment and realized that he really had no explanation, so he picked up the phone and gestured to the policewoman, "That's my colleague, Kenji Hagiwara, he happens to be driving nearby."

"Don't worry, he's very reliable."

…

A white Mazda sits on the road.

"Leave the rest to me." Sitting in his car, Kenji Hagiwara smiled and steered the car in a 180-degree U-turn right down the street.

The tires screeched as they rubbed against the asphalt, and the car, which had been straightened, didn't stop. The car swayed violently several times before it floored the accelerator and sped off towards the stronghold.

…

In front of the shopping mall.

After realizing that this involved a road chase, Matsuda Jinpei's words became somewhat uncertain, "Well, at least he'll bring the hostage back safely."

As for traffic violations, he couldn't guarantee that.

Miwako Sato didn't quite understand what he meant, but she didn't intend to dwell on it. The policewoman, full of energy, opened the car that Inspector Megure had prepared. Now she needed to find a way to get to the scene.

After much deliberation, Matsuda Jinpei, who was indeed worried about his friend, also came over and quickly gestured for himself to drive.

Sato Miwako, who needed to contact her superior, casually got into the passenger seat, while Matsuda Jinpei closed the door and pulled the handbrake.

Another car drove out of the mall.

…

On the road

A white car sped past one normally driving vehicle after another like a dragon, prompting the unsuspecting drivers to honk their horns and warn the street racer to be careful in broad daylight.

There's a good reason to speed in the city.

Kenji Hagiwara, legally speeding, slowly revealed a somewhat insane smile amidst the roar of the engine.

He started to enjoy working overtime.

Speeding along, disregarding traffic regulations, Kenji Hagiwara saw the rear of a black car that matched the description after turning a corner, along with a child on a skateboard trailing behind it.

The handsome man with medium-length hair narrowed his long, narrow eyes and decisively drove up to run alongside the target vehicle.

He rolled down his car window and shouted at the robbers next to him, whose windows were also down and who had menacing expressions, "Gentlemen! I noticed your car doesn't have license plates."

"I make fake photos! Would you like to learn more about my services?"

The robber in the car: Huh?

Conan, trailing behind the car: Huh?

These days, are people who make fake photos allowed to advertise their business on the road?

Inside the car, Zhuge Tongzhi, who had managed to lock up all three guns in the chaos, had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to peek out to see what was happening outside when the navigation system, which had been indicating the next steps, suddenly refreshed.

The rotating loading icon lit up, the original prompts were completely torn away, and a blank void updated the latest path amidst the girl's increasingly ominous mood.

"Destination: The robbery at the shopping mall has been changed to a cross-street chase."

"Continue along the current route for 100 meters, then jump out of the vehicle."

100m

86m

45m

29m

Zhuge Tongzhi: ?

O, say it again?

What are we going to do?

A note from the author:

----------------------

Hahahaha, victims of O'Dwight Germany have appeared in the comments section!

But I have to say it's still a lot of fun, and it really does navigate you to your destination.

When O said there was a road, there really was a road.

Whether or not the user can make it is up to them.

Zhuge Tongzhi: (Smiling face)