"Conan, is he dead?"

Facing the faint moonlight, the smile on the blond young man's face was particularly gentle, as if he was casually greeting someone by chance when meeting them at night, and there was not a trace of negative emotion in his words.

He still held the pistol, the hot barrel pointed at the man who was shot and lying on the ground, unable to even groan in pain.

The deflated football hung askew on the railing, showing that no one was left out.

For a moment, Conan Edogawa felt that it was himself who was being pointed at by the gun.

He subconsciously took a step back, and it was not until his back touched the cold railing that he realized what had just happened in a flash.

Is Kousuke Marumori dead?

Just a few seconds ago, the fugitive standing opposite to him tore off his disguise with his own hands. He stared at the former policeman who was suffering from PTSD and enjoyed the other's painful expression.

Then he picked up the dagger and walked towards his helpless prey.

No one cared about the child standing aside, looking exhausted.

Conan Edogawa kicked the football at the last moment and successfully hit Kousuke Marumori in the side of the face.

He shouted "Brother Songjiang", hoping that the latter could cooperate with him to perform a beautiful shoulder throw to resolve the accident.

Matsue Shigure did move.

He pulled out a pistol from his wide windbreaker and shot the fallen Marumori Kosuke without hesitation.

"Bang!"

“Bang, bang, bang!”

More than one shot!

Conan Edogawa's first reaction was that it was great that Brother Matsue was okay, but then he realized what was happening - murder!

You can't take this step!

The young detective's pupils dilated and he shook his head in panic, not answering Matsue Shigure's question.

As someone who has dealt with various cases and laws, he naturally knows what "murder" actually means.

My own moral condemnation, legal restrictions, and countless troubles——

When encountering a fugitive, regular police officers would only use guns to intimidate and would have to write a report when they return; not to mention that Matsue Shigure still carries a gun privately and beats people to death.

He's still got his detective badge on!

"Cough cough." The young man in front of him did not receive a reply, but instead he started coughing softly as if he was stung by the sea breeze.

But he quickly suppressed his cough, and continued gracefully without even bending his back from beginning to end.

Conan Edogawa tensed his body and asked anxiously: "Brother Songjiang, are you blind now?"

It must be! Edogawa Conan thought anxiously in his heart that the problem of carrying guns without permission could be solved by Matsue Shigure as a public security officer, but it was inevitable that he fired four shots in a row!

As long as he can prove that he is in a completely weak position——

"Hmm?" Songjiang Shiyu was obviously taken aback by his incoherent question. He frowned and said, "I think I'm fine now."

But it doesn't look good.

Matsue Shigure was looking in the direction of the boy, but her gaze passed him and fell on the sparkling sea.

Conan Edogawa stopped talking. He walked quickly to Matsue Shigure's side, wanting to check on Marumori Kosuke's situation.

Matsue Shigure heard the noise and subconsciously raised his hand to stop him, but his hand hit empty air because Edogawa Conan suddenly stopped.

The young detective remained silent, but he took another step, stepping hard on the deck, making a creaking sound.

The blond young man frowned and pulled his cuffs tighter to hide his anger. He did not put the gun back into his pocket, but let it hang loosely beside him.

*************

Five minutes ago, Victory.

"Akai Shuichi!"

Standing in the corner with Haibara Ai, the man in work clothes punched the railing. There was rage burning in Amuro Toru's eyes, and the words seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

The tea-haired girl in a silver dress clutched her detective badge and said sharply, "Now is not the time to scold that guy. Rum is definitely on this ship!"

"I know." Amuro Toru took a deep breath, a cold light flashed in his eyes, "Not only Rum, but also the councillor named Zhong Yonghe is a member of the organization - damn it!"

After all, Toru Amuro had sneaked in by replacing a staff member. Unable to determine how many back-up plans Rum had prepared, he could not act recklessly and could only secretly investigate clues.

But the police were "reliable" for once. The information about Zhong Yonghe's disappearance and the bomb was completely blocked. They directly summoned everyone to the dance hall and assigned a foreman to count the number of people one by one.

When Toru Amuro realized something was wrong and wanted to leave, the situation was in a dilemma.

If Haibara Ai hadn't suddenly appeared, crying and saying that her stomach was upset and she wanted to go back to get medicine, the only way he could get away without exposing his identity would be to wait for a familiar police officer to show up.

Toru Amuro held the phone tightly, his knuckles turning blue.

He was tricked - not only Rum who didn't go to the hotel to sneak onto the ship, but Akai Shuichi and Matsue Shigure!

If Shuichi Akai hadn't misled him time and again, Toru Amuro wouldn't have taken action until now.

Why on earth did those two guys want to carry out this dangerous plan without telling him? Did they know that he wouldn't agree, so they just used this method? !

Or is it that in Matsue Shigure's heart, Akai Shuichi is much more trustworthy than him?

With anger burning in his heart, Toru Amuro really wanted to rush to Matsue Shigure and ask him whether he recognized him as his student!

"Naka ​​Yonghe is a member of the organization?" Huiyuan Ai's face changed, "Why didn't you say so earlier!"

She only heard that the two were planning to deal with Rum, but she had no idea about the specific plan.

"Because there was insufficient evidence, there were so many police officers around him, and I wasn't sure if there were other spies, so I couldn't approach him rashly."

Amuro Toru took a deep breath, "He is a popular newcomer in the political arena recently. All factions are trying to win him over. Even the public security cannot arrest and detain him directly. Instead, he could easily turn the tables and arouse the organization's vigilance."

"This information was given to me by Rum. I wanted to cooperate with Akai Shuichi to arrest Rum and then attack him unexpectedly—"

But now all the plans have been disrupted. Toru Amuro doesn't know whether Shuichi Akai has told Matsue Shigure about this, nor does he know what they are planning.

"But now they are scattered, we have to find them as soon as possible." Huiyuan gritted his teeth and said, "What exactly is Zhongyong and their plan?"

"I don't know."

Amuro Toru's brain was also spinning rapidly: "Rum only asked me to load a large number of bombs under the Goddess, enough to sink the ship, and did not tell me the rest of the plan.

The bomb has been replaced and sealed by me, and no one can enter the lower level of the Goddess again, but the remote control of the explosion is with him."

The optical simulated bomb combined with the traces created in advance can cause an explosion and a shipwreck, but the damage will not be fatal. This is the only good news at the moment.

He originally thought that Zhong Yonghe was just a tool to bring prohibited items on board, but now he is missing, and the bomber named Marumori Kosuke has not appeared either.

Rum does have a back-up plan!

The second-in-command of an organization is never an easy target, and every step Toru Amuro takes is difficult.

The two were in a stalemate, trying to figure out where to make a breakthrough, when suddenly, a clear voice came from Haibara Ai's detective badge.

It's Edogawa Conan!

"…Why did you trick us into boarding the Goddess?!"

The young detective's voice was high and hoarse, full of a desire to survive, and it was obvious that he was speaking to the person holding the detective badge.

Amuro Toru's eyebrows jumped: "Marumori Kosuke!"

Huihara Ai's face turned pale: "Use Marumori Kosuke to kill Matsue and the others? No! That bomber...he will definitely cause Matsue's memory to become disordered!"

The young man, who had been strongly stimulated, would not have the energy to face the brutal fugitive, and it was unknown whether he would collapse.

Huibara Ai gritted her teeth. If something really happened to Matsue Shigure, the medicine she had would be the last safety plug.

But with Rum and the fugitives sandwiched between them, can he hold on until that time?

"No, it shouldn't be like this—"

The blond policeman murmured in a low voice: "This is not in line with the logic of Rum's behavior. Since he took the risk to board the ship, he would never let Marumori Kosuke do it in this way after laying so much groundwork!"

Zhong Yonghe——What on earth are they planning over there in Zhong Yonghe? !

The conversation on the Goddess continued, but apart from the voices of Conan Edogawa and Kousuke Marumori, another person never spoke.

Toru Amuro's heart gradually sank.

He naturally noticed that Matsue Shigure was wearing glasses today, and he was already worried about his mental state. Now Marumori Kosuke provoked him——

What will he remember?

Will it be like last time, vomiting blood to the point where I can’t even stand steadily?

Matsue Shigure himself is a time bomb. Amuro Toru completely doesn't understand why a man like Akai Shuichi is willing to take such a big risk to cooperate with him.

Or - let him die and gamble on the possibility of Rum appearing.

He clenched his fists.

"Huiyuan, you know which police officers are trustworthy. Do you want to convey the information about Zhong Yonghe to them?"

Amuro Toru walked back quickly, leaving behind the sound of Huibara crying out to him: "Then what are you going to do!"

"I'll go find them." Amuro Toru paused and said firmly, "I won't let anything happen to him!"

Rum asked him to install a bomb under the Goddess, but Amuro Toru immediately prepared a raft and hid it in the dark.

Now, it comes in handy.

Toru Amuro walked faster and faster, and finally started running.

*************

An unspoken understanding.

Conan Edogawa immediately walked to Marumori Kosuke's side, squatted down, carefully checked the part where the other party was shot, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Matsue Shigure fired four shots, three of which hit Marumori Kosuke, but coincidentally none of them hit vital parts, only restricting the opponent's ability to move, and the burn marks from the bullets happened to stop the bleeding - he fainted from the pain.

"Brother Songjiang, shall we go back and look for the others first?"

The young detective looked up, not daring to mention Marumori Kosuke's condition for a moment. He was afraid that Matsue Shigure would shoot him two more times after knowing that the other party was not dead.

Not to mention, what he was most worried about was the person in front of him.

Looking closely, Conan Edogawa realized how bad Matsue Shigure's complexion was. There was blood on his cheeks, and he was covered in cold sweat. Even his blond hair was soaked and stuck to his forehead.

"Ahem, we can't leave yet." The blond young man lowered his voice a little, and said hoarsely, "Conan, we still need to find Councillor Zhong Yonghe, and the police can't spare any manpower."

"But you are injured now!" Edogawa Conan raised his voice, "and now you——"

How much can you still see?

"We must find him." Matsue Shigure interrupted him before he could say anything, and suddenly reached out his hand, this time finally accurately touching the boy's soft hair.

He coughed a few times and said, "Hagiwara and his team are responsible for personal protection."

Conan Edogawa pursed his lips and remained motionless. He could feel Matsue Shigure trembling at the moment.

"I can still see clearly now." The hoarse voice repeated stubbornly, "It's okay, I can see clearly."

It was just that the world was spinning before his eyes. Those undercover agents who had been killed in the organization, those people who had unfortunately died in the disaster, were standing around him, covered in blood and ashes, staring at him, filling the room.

As long as the goal can be achieved——

So what?

…

The detective badge in his hand made a crackling sound, and he could not receive any sound from the other side. Conan Edogawa didn't even know whether his previous request for help had been heard or not.

The Goddess had no lights, and the entire ship was shrouded in moonlight, so visibility was not high.

The blood from Matsue Shigure's injured arm, coupled with the sudden recollection of the past, undoubtedly made his vision worse.

He felt that Songjiang Shigure could no longer be seen.

The man, who was already afraid of the darkness, was now standing on the cold and bumpy deck, injured and tired, trying to find the missing congressman like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The hull shrouded in shadows looked like a giant, man-eating beast, and no one knew what was inside.

It's too difficult.

Even with countless experiences of blindness, being able to walk and search in the dark is still - too difficult.

Conan Edogawa insisted: "Then let's go back and bandage the wound first."

"I'm fine, really." The blond young man held the railing, but the next moment he covered his mouth and started coughing. Edogawa Conan noticed that he clenched his sleeves in his palms.

As if he felt that it was unreasonable to say this in this situation, Matsue Shigure changed the direction of his advice and smiled at him with difficulty: "Conan, they are my students."

"I...I want to see them get promoted and get a raise instead of suffering losses due to something while I am still here."

"After all, as their former instructor, it would be too shameful if you can't even protect your students."

Edogawa Conan grasped the corner of his clothes.

"They deserve a bright future."

The blond young man pursed his bloodstained lips and swallowed the second half of the sentence.

——Instead of facing the inevitable end like him.

*************

Matsue Shigure looked at the troubled expression on the young detective's face and silently said "Yeah" in his heart: "I knew that playing the emotional card would definitely work."

System: "You said you didn't want to bully Conan, but now you're lying to him so hard."

Matsue Shigure: "There's nothing I can do. I've pretended to be blind and I've fired my gun. Now that it's come to this, I can't just walk away, can I?"

Matsue Shigure: "Tsk, Rum still understands Conan. He might be worried that Conan and I will play him together."

System: "In fact, he was right."

Matsue Shigure: "I'm not acting at all! I'm expressing my true feelings!"

After all, Kenji Hagihara and Jinpei Matsuda don't have as many cheats as players. Being injured is being injured, and being demoted is being demoted.

Matsue Shigure may not care about anything in this world, but they can't.

Therefore, if he puts more effort into overthrowing this organization that is harmful to society, it will be a win-win situation.

Anyway, it's just a matter of tearing a card. When the time comes, he can buy the game and start over.

***************

"We've found the councillor--!"

Jinpei Matsuda shouted at the small detective badge at the top of his lungs, his throat almost splitting, and the conversation on the other end did not fluctuate at all.

Apparently, it didn’t get out.

Next to him, Kenji Hagiwara was standing on a stool and saw through the glass opening at the top of the heavy door that Naka Yonghe was tied up in the middle and gagged.

They were now at the entrance to the performance and reception hall on the top floor, which was not open. The door was locked from the inside and there was no way to force it open. They could only send someone to find a saw and hammer, which wasted some time.

But while they were anxiously waiting, the turmoil on the Goddess did not stop.

The two listened to the gunshots, heard Conan Edogawa's questions, and - Matsue Shigure's attitude.

I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

“They are my students.”

Songjiang Shigure said it firmly and as a matter of course - he wanted to protect them.

"Damn it! Why is the signal on this thing so bad!"

Kenji Hagiwara punched himself in the leg, his face twisted in pain - he didn't dare to hammer the wall, fearing that he would injure his hand and make it difficult to defuse the bomb.

But Matsue Shigure's words were like a small knife, stabbing into his heart and twisting it, causing him so much pain that even his breathing was disordered.

You are in this situation now, and you are still thinking about their future?

Damn the future!

——"You are my students."

Someone had said the same thing to him seven years ago.

Kenji Hagiwara bit his back teeth hard, and his mouth seemed to be filled with the smell of blood.

It was as if we were back to seven years ago. If Songjiang Shigure hadn't walked into the sea of ​​fire to block the gap, once the explosion really happened -

The attacks from the media, public opinion, and the victims' families will fall directly on the police officers who participated in the operation, regardless of whether they did their best and whether the bomber was brought to justice.

The first to bear the brunt are the young and energetic "police academy students".

They are likely to be used as targets for "acting on impulse" by their superiors and handed over to other officials in exchange for the Metropolitan Police Department's reputation and prestige.

The consequences at that time will be unimaginable.

But...it's impossible.

Someone stood up and protected them behind him in a matter-of-fact tone.

——After only being together for six months and arguing all the time.

"The tools are here! The tools are here!" Police officers came rushing over carrying things.

“Hurry up!”

Kenji Hagiwara grabbed the hammer and smashed it against the wall again and again like a madman, scaring the police officers nearby.

Jinpei Matsuda subconsciously lowered the volume of the detective badge in his hand and put it to his ear.

"If I had known... I would have gone back to the factory to get the car fixed." The half-long-haired police officer panted and pleaded, his voice almost crying, "Asshole instructor!"

***************

Looking at Matsue Shigure's determined look, Edogawa Conan was silent.

He still remembered the first time he encountered the bomb case, when Matsue Shigure snatched the toolbox from his hand without hesitation and climbed up to the elevator shaft alone.

Even though she was usually very unreliable and couldn't even make a sandwich properly, she could still act coquettishly towards this child without any psychological burden.

But once something urgent happens, Matsue Shigure will stand before them with the most resolute attitude.

Edogawa Conan inexplicably recalled Haibara Ai's almost jealous words - he likes you the most anyway.

What does Matsue Shigure like about him?

"……I see."

The young detective finally avoided the blond young man's vague gaze and walked towards the goddess statue first.

"The Goddess is much smaller than the Victory. Apart from the large meeting place and the lower cabin, only the statue of the Goddess has a spiral staircase for people to climb up and see the distant view."

——Thanks to Haibara for letting him notice something was wrong in advance. Edogawa Conan had already memorized the structural drawings of the two ships.

"Brother Songjiang, shall we start from the deck?"

Conan Edogawa did not mention Kousuke Marumori because he was worried that the other party would shoot again or fall into his past PTSD again.

This guy is alive now, but it's not certain whether he will die from excessive blood loss in the future.

But we'll talk about it when the time comes.

The young detective chose to escape. He walked forward a few steps, stood not far from the door under the goddess statue, and looked back at Matsue Shigure.

Behind the young man was the vast sea. The frosty moonlight fell, turning his light golden hair into silver. The blood on his black windbreaker was not noticeable, except for the blood on his lips, which was particularly bright.

The large expanse of black and white is mixed with some blood-red, like the effect from an old photo.

He held the gun in one hand and hesitated for a while on whether to let go of the railing with his left hand. Finally, he lightly let go of his hand and walked forward as if nothing had happened.

"Conan, let's start from the left. Come with me."

Matsue Shigure rubbed his temples as he walked, and his silver-chain glasses swayed with his movements, like a chain that hid all the secrets.

Step by step.

Unwavering.

Edogawa Conan did not listen to Matsue Shigure and walked over, but watched him approach naturally, and for a moment he really thought he could see things -

"Squeak."

The dagger that Marumori Kosuke threw when he fell to the ground spun on the ground and almost slipped to the edge of the railing.

The blood-stained silver-white blade stood out in the moonlight, leaving no sign of being ignored.

For a moment, it seemed as if even the sea breeze had stagnated.

“…Let’s go.”

Matsue Shigure covered his mouth and coughed a few times, but the next second his face turned pale and he raised his gun reflexively.

"Ah, you reacted quickly."

A hoarse and sinister voice sounded, and a man walked out from the shadows. His left eye was covered by an eye patch, and his wide jaw was enough to make a deep impression.

He was holding a suitcase in one hand, and the other hand was on Edogawa Conan's shoulder, holding a gun at an angle.

The boy's pupils dilated and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. He stiffened his body and let Rum push him forward a few steps.

The two were also exposed to the moonlight.

He looked at Songjiang Shi Yuhun, who was holding the gun tightly and aiming at him, but his finger was not on the trigger like he did just now.

Everyone realized the truth in an instant.

"No..." Edogawa Conan moved his lips and uttered an inaudible murmur, "Rum."

Rum has been on this boat all along!

********

It's already eight fifty-five.

Amuro Toru stepped wetly on the wooden planks of the Goddess's interior cabin.

The short-term intense exercise caused his lungs to feel sore and even breathing became extremely difficult.

Apart from the waves, there was no other sound around, and he had no idea what situation Matsue Shigure and the others were in.

Without having time to catch his breath, Toru Amuro quickly climbed up the ladder and walked towards the deck.