Beihu Shopping Mall was bustling with people on the weekend.
The giant Ferris wheel slowly rotates, like the eyes of the city, overlooking the bustling city below.
In one of the cockpits, Ai, along with the three little ones who were so excited they were about to take off, and Conan, who was trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, with his face saying "I'm just passing by," slowly ascended to the highest point.
Wow! It's so high!
"You can see my house!"
"Amazing!"
Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko pressed their faces against the glass window, cheering excitedly.
Conan, meanwhile, was internally grumbling at a certain wicked little girl: "Saying things like 'Ferris wheels are the perfect place to observe human social behavior'... you just wanted to ride it yourself!"
"I'm afraid of having my blood drawn, so I don't dare say it to your face. Can't I at least complain to myself?"
Hmph~ The great detective's last pride is not to be violated!
And below the Ferris wheel.
Sato Miwako looked up at the slowly rotating giant wheel with a complicated expression. The sunlight was a little dazzling, but she just squinted and stared blankly.
It's as if you can see something else through time.
Three years ago, an incident occurred here that she still doesn't want to recall, yet can't truly forget.
In retaliation against the police, a crazed criminal planted a bomb on the Ferris wheel, holding hostages, and ultimately... killed a police officer who had chosen to remain in the cabin to obtain information about the location of the next bomb.
That policeman was her former partner.
A man she only worked with for two days, yet he left a deep impression on her life.
Sato Miwako subconsciously took out her phone, her fingertips swiping across the screen, lingering on the text message she had set to be saved permanently, never deleted, and never replied to again.
Sender: Matsuda Jinpei
Content: 【あんたの事わりと好きだったぜ】
(I quite like you. / I quite enjoy working with you.)
This text message felt like a farewell message, but it was also a recognition and goodbye to her work ability.
After all, the two only worked together for two days and only knew each other for those two days. How deep could their feelings be?
But Matsuda Jinpei's unwavering determination to sacrifice himself to protect more people was deeply etched into the heart of Sato Miwako, who also hated evil and took her police duties very seriously.
I wouldn't say I love you, I just can't let go.
What's more, her father also died in the line of duty... The police profession brought her not only glory, but also too much pain.
This complex emotion has made it difficult for her to truly break free.
She pulled herself out of her reverie, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her somewhat turbulent emotions.
Just then, the clear shouts of several children came from afar:
"Officer Sato!"
"It's Officer Sato!"
What a coincidence!
Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko ran over excitedly.
Following behind was Ai Haibara, who looked completely calm, as if to say, "I knew we'd run into the police," and Conan, whose eyes instantly switched to "case radar activated" mode.
When Sato Miwako saw the children, she forced a gentle smile, squatted down to make herself at their eye level, and said, "Oh, it's you, the Junior Detective Club. Are you here at the mall today too?"
"Yes, yes! Officer Sato, are you here to have fun too?"
Ayumi blinked her innocent, wide eyes and asked.
"I... just came to take a look," Sato Miwako said vaguely, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the Ferris wheel again.
...
On the other side, not far from the roadside.
The art styles are completely different.
Wataru Takagi and Ninzaburo Shiratori were leaning over a black sedan, whispering and discussing something with serious expressions.
“I never imagined that something like this could have happened three years ago…” Takagi Wataru said in a heavy tone, with a hint of lingering fear and regret. He hadn’t been transferred to the First Investigation Division at the time and had only heard bits and pieces of information about it.
Shiratori Ninzaburo sighed: "If Officer Sato can't let go of Matsuda, I'm afraid... well, unless we also..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: unless they also died heroically in the line of duty, they would probably find it difficult to occupy an equal position in Sato's heart.
The cost of competition is just too high!
The two unfortunate brothers exchanged a glance, simultaneously seeing the despair in each other's eyes—"It's over, we can't beat the dead"—and tacitly hung their heads in dejection, making the surrounding air seem even gloomier.
Just then, Miwako Sato came over with the children.
"Takagi, Shiratori? What are you doing here? This posture... are you conducting some kind of new vehicle search ceremony?" Sato looked at the two of them in a strange posture with their butts sticking out and lying next to the car with a puzzled expression.
"Ah! Officer Sato!"
Takagi Wataru was startled, as if he had been caught daydreaming in class by his homeroom teacher. He quickly straightened up and explained in a flustered manner, sweat beading on his forehead, "We, we received a tip that there might be something suspicious near this restaurant, so we came to search it."
Shiratori regained his composure and replied, "However, we haven't found anything yet, so it might just be a rumor. I'm going to go back to the car to organize the data first."
With that, Shiratori opened the car door and got into the driver's seat.
Conan keenly noticed Takagi's vague words and slight panic earlier, so he looked up and launched his "cute kid killer question" in the most innocent tone: "Officer Takagi, what kind of intelligence did you get? Is there another bad guy?"
Takagi Wataru lowered his voice and answered instinctively, "It's a bomb... uh..."
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