Chapter 131 A Matter of Life and Death

"Jinpei-chan, do you think it would be recorded in history if we both died this time?" Hagiwara asked half-jokingly, as he walked through the narrow doorway, wearing a radiation suit that was even bulkier than usual.

The voice came through the walkie-talkie to Matsuda, who had just entered the reactor. Curly-haired Matsuda replied irritably, "Don't talk unless it's important. Conserve your energy!"

"I'm just letting you know I'm still alive, so you won't worry about me."

It is currently 8:16 AM Tokyo time on May 6th.

The cores of the four already exploded reactors are completely exposed, resulting in severe nuclear leaks. Reactors 5, where Hagiwara worked, and 6, where Matsuda worked, remain two ticking time bombs with unknown conditions.

"Hagi, wanna gamble?" Matsuda suddenly asked, his serious tone startling Hagiwara.

"Huh? What are we betting on?"

"I'm betting on why this didn't explode."

Hagiwara paused for a moment. They had been betting for over twenty years, each winning and losing. The thought that this might be their last bet together brought a strange sadness to his heart.

What could possibly be worthy of this gamble? Life?

"Jinpei-chan, what do you want to bet with?"

"Use whatever you have left." A mischievous smile crept onto Matsuda's lips.

"I bet the reason it didn't explode was due to a malfunction."

"Then let's find out!"

"Hey, wait a minute, Jinpei-chan, you haven't told us your guess yet!"

Matsuda replied smugly, "I have a different opinion from yours."

Hagiwara then realized he'd been tricked: regardless of the real reason, if he guessed wrong, Matsuda was guaranteed to win. This was a perfect opportunity to pick up the scraps!

"Matsuda Jinpei! This is not fair at all!" Hagiwara raised his voice angrily.

"Shh, keep your voice down. What kind of fairness is there in a game between adults? Do you think this is children playing house?" With that, Matsuda turned his back on his childhood friend with a nonchalant air. Hagiwara could only swallow his anger and suffer in silence.

This was Hagiwara and Matsuda's first time entering a nuclear power plant. A guide was out of the question, but fortunately the route wasn't too complicated. The two split up and ventured deeper into the heart of the reactor. They had expected it to be hot inside, but the closer they got, the colder it felt—a bone-chilling cold.

Later, when recounting this thrilling experience, Matsuda recalled: "In previous missions, I couldn't wait to get to the site, wishing I could fly there. But this time was different. When I saw the huge reactor core, which was more than ten meters high, I was momentarily stunned. My first thought was: How did we get here so quickly?"

"Did you go voluntarily?" someone asked.

"This is my job; there's no question of whether it's voluntary or not."

Aren't you scared?

"It would be a lie to say I wasn't afraid. At that time, all I could think about was how I was going to die."

"If I really die this time, I'll probably be torn to pieces, right?"

"Body severely exposed to nuclear radiation would be very difficult to handle. Cremation wouldn't be an option; they would likely be placed in lead coffins, covered with a thick layer of cement, and buried in a very deep pit."

"It's lucky we found the body; otherwise, it might have been thrown out by the shockwave and sunk into the sea..."

But that's not the worst of it. The consequences of mission failure wouldn't just be the loss of their two lives; countless others would also perish. In the event of an accident, this place would become the graveyard of all the incident response personnel and commanders on site.

Matsuda knew very well why his superiors had assigned him and Hagiwara to this arduous task. Over the years, they had earned countless accolades, and while titles like bomb disposal expert sounded impressive to outsiders, he knew that all those honors had been earned with their lives.

Each successful completion of a task raises the expectations of superiors and colleagues. Over time, these expectations can become a burden. Occasionally, they feel overwhelmed by the heavy responsibilities on their shoulders.

"It must be because the radiation protection suit is too heavy."

"Hagi, I've arrived." Matsuda climbed up the scaffolding to the outer wall of the reactor core.

"Yes, I've arrived too..."

The walkie-talkie signal jittered, and the next sentence didn't reach Matsuda's ears: "Hagi, what did you just say? I didn't hear you."

"Huh? Oh..." Hagiwara paused, then breathed a sigh of relief, as if glad the other person hadn't heard him clearly, and replied in a relaxed tone, "I said don't forget what you promised me at the bar last time, you still owe me a meal."

"Huh? You're still worrying about such trivial things at a time like this?"

Even close brothers need to keep clear accounts! Why can't I be petty?!

Matsuda frowned, both amused and annoyed, and said, "Let's settle things here first. After we get out, I'll treat you to whatever you want to eat."

"It's a deal!"

Matsuda focused his attention on the device in front of him, whose purpose was unknown. A ring-shaped object was wrapped around the core of the reactor, about 10 centimeters wide and thick. Two things caught his attention:

Firstly, the ring was too perfect, with the two ends fitting together seamlessly. It took him quite a while to find the connection point between the two ends.

Secondly, the patterns on the rings, although they are just simple geometric shapes, the arrangement of circles and triangles of various sizes seems to convey some kind of mysterious message.

"How exactly was this thing installed?"

There must have been significant loopholes in the internal management of the nuclear power plant to allow dangerous elements to take advantage of the situation. However, Matsuda's primary concern right now isn't that; rather, he's wondering why anyone would want to blow up the nuclear power plant.

"Jinpei-chan, to be honest, I'm almost reluctant to take it apart," Hagiwara murmured. "It's practically a work of art, isn't it?"

"If this is performance art, then its astonishing destructive power is truly worthy of being recorded in history," Matsuda couldn't help but remark.

With immense patience, the two men disassembled the internal circuitry of the ring, observing the meticulously arranged pins, the uniquely colored leads, and even the perfectly aligned angles of the nuts. Every detail screamed perfection!

Matsuda couldn't help but think: Is the prisoner perhaps an obsessive-compulsive?

With the last screw removed, Matsuda finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hagi, you lost." His tone was full of relief and joy. "There was no malfunction. The criminal just didn't want to detonate the last two."

Hagiwara readily admitted his speculation was wrong: "Jinpei-chan, it's obvious these were all remotely controlled. I don't believe someone capable of such complex schemes would make such a basic mistake. Could it be that the perpetrator deliberately left evidence to show off their skills to the police?"

Matsuda examined the dismantled ring fragments and murmured, "Who knows? We'll have to wait and see once we catch that guy. I really want to meet him..."

The annex at dusk, the library.

Conan slowly recovered from the shock of Osiris's death threat. He examined the hourglass carefully and said coldly, "You're lying to me."

Osiris put on an innocent expression: "What did I lie to you about?"

"It hasn't even started yet!" Conan shouted. "For someone as ritualistic as you, this hourglass is utterly pathetic. You go to great lengths to create incredibly exquisite toys just to welcome me. You even made a pendulum torture device 20 years ago. How could you possibly use a mundane hourglass as a countdown to fulfilling your lifelong dream? Are you kidding me?!"

"I don't care, believe it or not!" Osiris unusually threw a tantrum, like a little doll who had already received the candy she wanted most, and no amount of coaxing or cajoling would work. "I'm going to prepare a victory celebration, want to eat together? Dinner's a bit late tonight!"

"Is this our last supper?" Conan glared at the other person, annoyed, not understanding why Osiris could still put on such a naturally cute look at a time like this.

Osiris flashed her sweetest smile and said, "Yes, how about I cook your last meal myself?"

"So you're just sending me on my way after I finish eating?"

Conan finally understood his value in this game: he was both a witness to miracles and a sacrificial lamb.

"Before that, we still have some things to resolve, right?"

"Huh?"

"You still haven't answered my first question since I arrived here: Where is your brother?"

"Why bring this up again of all things?" Osiris's tone held a hint of displeasure.

"Because I came here for your brother, and I've been here with you for so long just for him. I will never leave until I find him!"

“You lost, what right do you have to make demands of me?” Osiris asked arrogantly.

"You haven't followed the rules of the game at all, so what right do you have to be so arrogant?" Conan questioned. "The most important thing in children's games is fairness! But when have you ever done that? You've repeatedly taken advantage of information asymmetry to play tricks on me, time and time again! Osiris, do you have the guts to drop all your mysterious pretenses and play a truly fair game with me?"

Osiris laughed: "Oh dear, you're really persistent! But what's the point? You've already lost. Even if you want to be the savior, you're powerless to change anything."

"Your decision doesn't count! I want your brother to be the referee." Conan made a request that greatly surprised Osiris.

"Conan, why should I listen to you?"

"Only this way can I accept defeat wholeheartedly. Didn't you say you always win? Then prove it to me!"

"Aren't you afraid my brother will be unfairly judged?"

“I think he’s much better than you in this respect.”

Osiris gave a barely audible hum: "What do you want to compete in?"

“Naturally, the referee will set the questions, and whoever loses will have to act according to the other's wishes,” Conan said, staring intently at Osiris. “If I lose, I will do as you wish… commit suicide.”

"Oh? I don't think I've ever said anything like that before. I don't care if Shinichi Kudo dies, but I'd be really sad if Conan Edogawa died!"

"Stop pretending! You can't fool me anymore. I know what you're thinking," Conan said fiercely. "If you want to defeat me completely, forcing me to commit suicide is the best way."

An inscrutable expression flickered across Osiris's face as he slowly spoke, "Since you are willing to offer such a sincere gift, then I will also wager a commensurate stake. If I lose, I will retire from this business, cease all further progress on the Crystal Network Project, and the organization will be disbanded on the spot."

"It's a deal!"

"I'll fight you to the end."