Chapter 194, Seventy-Third Cycle (24)
The weather was sunny, and since it was the weekend, there were quite a lot of people outside.
Tokyo Station was packed with people, with a large crowd gathered outside.
"That sounds great! I want to go on the mystery train too..."
People couldn't help but look envious as they gazed at the promotional images of the luxurious red train.
The Suzuki Express is a mysterious train that runs once a year without stopping from its origin to its destination. Each trip features a different themed mystery case, involving all passengers who can choose to play the roles of murderer and detective.
The mysterious train is already attractive enough, but this time, the Suzuki Group's display of jewels in the first-class carriage attracted the attention of Kaito Kid's announcement letter, thus drawing in countless fans of Kaito Kid.
"Lord Kid! Lord Kid must be among those passengers!!!"
"Who is Lord Kid dressed up as today?!!"
"Which one do you think is Lord Kid?"
Kaito Kid discreetly walked through the crowd, slowly pushing the elderly man in a wheelchair into the platform of the Mysterious Train in front of countless fans.
The woman in the blue dress smirked smugly, then reverted to her usual expressionless demeanor as she approached the passengers of the mysterious train.
"Wow, it's amazing! This is the first time I've ever seen a steam train in real life! I'm so excited just thinking about riding on it!"
"It only looks like a steam train on the outside; inside it's actually a high-speed train powered by the latest diesel engines..."
Kaito Kuroba glanced discreetly at the group of kids chatting at the door of carriage number six, and unsurprisingly spotted a familiar little detective.
Wow, looks like this one's going to be fun too.
"I heard this mysterious train was built for people who love Agatha Christie's 'Murder on the Orient Express'?"
"Yes, I remember the detective is the Hercule Poirot series?"
"Oh right, Amuro-kun, is that where the name of Poirot Café comes from?"
"I think so, right? The shop manager is also very interested in mystery novels... Speaking of Agatha Christie's novels, I'm still more interested in 'And Then There Were None'."
Several strikingly handsome men entered carriage number seven, chatting and laughing.
Kaito Kuroba's initial attention was only on the three policemen. The reason was simple: among that group of idiot officers, those three were rare and capable cops. On the two occasions when he happened to encounter them during Kaito Kid's operations, he felt that he had been seen through.
But it must be my imagination, otherwise why don't they arrest him?
As Kaito Kuroba pondered, he suddenly caught sight of the blond, dark-skinned youth among the group. He froze, his eyes widening instantly.
But by the time he wanted to look again, the person had already disappeared.
However, Kaito Kuroba's excellent memory remained vivid, allowing him to clearly recall the scene he had just witnessed time and time again.
The blond youth was wearing a hat, and half of his body was blocked by Officer Ida, who was almost two meters tall. He wasn't sure if the person was the dangerous man in black he had encountered that night.
However, the blonde hair and dark skin are such a striking feature.
But if it really is him, how come he's walking with those three formidable police officers?
Was he planning to use those three police officers to do something bad? Or was he actually a member of the police force?
Kaito Kuroba pretended to be calm and continued walking forward until he reached his carriage, number eight, his mind still racing.
I have a feeling... like there's something going on and it's dangerous?
Hmm, I really have a bad feeling about this.
*
"Sera! You're on the Mystery Train too?" Sonoko Suzuki exclaimed in shock. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have given you a ticket directly."
Sera Masumi smiled, held up the mysterious train ring on her finger, and said, "I happened to get a ticket, and since I'm a detective, of course I have to participate."
Ai Haibara immediately turned around and pulled up her hood.
Almost the instant she finished putting on her hat, Sera Masumi approached her: "Hello, you must be Ai Haibara, right? I haven't seen you before..."
Conan Edogawa stepped forward to block Ai Haibara's path, giving the black-haired girl an innocent smile: "By the way, does Sera-neechan know where the final destination of this mystery train is?"
Sera Masumi's attention was successfully diverted by her favorite little detective and puzzle-solving: "Hmm, it must be Nagoya, right? We can easily deduce it by looking at the train schedule changes today..."
Conan Edogawa smiled and praised Sera-neechan for being amazing, then dragged Ai Haibara and Ran Mouri to find Kogoro Mouri.
Kogoro Mouri spent a long time grooming his beard today, making it stick up on both sides. He also introduced himself to everyone he met as Mouri Poirot, cosplaying as Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie's novels. Now he's even gone out of his way to chat and introduce himself to the passengers in front of carriage number eight.
The flight attendant exclaimed in surprise, "So you're the famous detective Kogoro Mouri?"
Kogoro Mouri stroked his beard earnestly to show him: "Hahaha! Today, please call me Mouri Polro!"
Ran Mouri silently pulled him away.
Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara followed slowly behind.
“Pollon, Poirot, Bourbon…” Conan Edogawa muttered under his breath, then turned around and asked, “Bourbon is a man, right?”
Ai Haibara: "..."
Ai Haibara's tension was mostly dispelled by him, and she rolled her eyes and said, "What's wrong? What brilliant idea does the great detective have this time?"
Conan Edogawa stroked his chin: "What do you think is the likelihood that Sera is actually a man?"
Ai Haibara: "..."
Ai Haibara reminded him, "Bourbon and Vermouth are very close, so it wouldn't be surprising if he disguised himself as men, women, or children during his operations."
Conan Edogawa sighed: "I know, that's why I'm even more troubled. Now everyone looks like Bourbon to me. He's supposed to be a detective, but now I feel like I'm catching Kaito Kid."
Because he's a guy who's like a detective and a thief at the same time.
Ai Haibara pulled her mask down, almost completely hiding her head.
The danger isn't Bourbon, but Vermouth, and possibly anyone else in the organization.
"Huh, there aren't any numbers marked inside the carriage?" Orikasa Ai looked up and checked repeatedly before entering the carriage.
"Yes, to maximize the possibilities for each deduction game, the train carriages weren't numbered from the start. There are only five compartments marked with numbers A, B, C, D, and E. Oh, and there's no surveillance or anything like that. The cases can only be solved through individual investigative skills." Sonoko Suzuki gave a brief explanation, first carefully escorting the kids to compartment D in carriage six, before eagerly pulling Ran Mouri to their first-class compartment, number eight.
Kogoro Mouri, on the other hand, was excitedly looking left and right from the back, as if he wanted to observe and remember everything from this moment on so as to gain an advantage in the subsequent reasoning game.
Sera Masumi was in room A on the 6th, so she didn't go with them.
After the corridor was quiet for a while, two more women wearing hats entered carriage number six one after the other.
The woman in the white hat entered room B, and the woman in the black hat entered room C.
Finally, only the guest in room E of carriage number six had not yet arrived.
*
Who is the guest?
"Subaru Okiya, car 6, room E. We're about to depart and we're running late. Can I get on from car 8?" the bespectacled, gentle-looking pink-haired man asked, troubled.
"Of course." The conductor nodded after checking the mysterious train ring on his hand and stepped aside to let him into carriage number eight.
Carriage number eight was quite lively, not only because of Kogoro Mouri's presence, but also because everyone in the carriage knew each other and had participated in the Mystery Train game together before.
“Mr. Subaru?” Sonoko Suzuki’s eyes lit up.
"What? Mr. Subaru is also on the Mystery Train?" Ran Mouri turned her head in surprise.
Subaru Okiya nodded, looking embarrassed, and said, "Yeah, I was lucky."
After leaving the bustling No. 8 carriage, he entered the much quieter No. 7 carriage.
As he entered the carriage, the doors of the nearest room, E, closed. He couldn't see the figure clearly, but he could confirm that it was a woman.
But... why does it feel a little familiar?
Subaru Okiya slowed his pace, walking slowly as if he were observing the mysterious train with interest.
Then, as he walked to the middle, a blond, dark-skinned youth came from in front of him.
The aisle wasn't wide, but it wasn't narrow either; at least two people sitting side by side wouldn't be cramped.
But as they passed each other, they both turned to the side as if worried about bumping into each other.
Both of them were facing each other, glancing at each other almost imperceptibly for those brief two seconds, before shifting their attention as if they were just passing by countless strangers they didn't know well or care about, and walking away in their own directions.
The sunlight outside the window was dazzling, and even after being refracted through the window, it still shone brightly on people.
Shuichi Akai admitted that his heart was beating a little fast at that moment, and he had the illusion that Bourbon had seen through his disguise.
He was now very glad that he had worn glasses while disguising himself; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been confident that he could walk around in front of Bourbon without being exposed.
"Click—"
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the blond youth enter room C. Shuichi Akai regained his composure, and with Subaru Okiya's gentle smile on his face, he continued walking forward.
The compartments here aren't very soundproof, but the noise level on the train is quite high, making it difficult to hear what's going on inside.
However, Shuichi Akai did not expect to know the information of all the passengers on the train in one trip; the information he had just obtained was already sufficient.
He walked out of carriage number seven and was about to enter carriage number six.
"...Mr. Midorikawa Hikaru, is that right?"
Shuichi Akai paused in his steps.
"Yes, you are in carriage number 7, room D. After you go up, turn left and you will be in carriage number 7."
Shuichi Akai tilted his head slightly and saw a black-haired man wearing black-rimmed glasses carrying luggage walking up.
The man had stubble on his chin, and his hair on his forehead was a bit long, obscuring his eyes. With the addition of his glasses, it was difficult to see his true appearance.
But the moment he turned around, the wind outside the door blew his hair, revealing his upturned blue eyes.
Akai Shuichi: "..."
Hideaki Akai remained expressionless and continued walking forward, finally entering carriage number six.
I should have known, he thought, I knew it.
If Bourbon is here, how far behind is Scotland?
Shuichi Akai's private room was room E, but he went straight past room E and knocked on the door of room C.
"Click—"
The door opened, and Shuichi Akai walked in.
"...Why do you look so serious?" Yukiko Kudo immediately forgot what she was originally going to say. "What happened?"
Shuichi Akai sat on the sofa and sighed.
“Another troublemaker has arrived,” he said. “Scotland is here too.”
After listening to his brief explanation, Yukiko Kudo couldn't help but frown and said worriedly, "The situation is indeed very dangerous. Should we tell them about Bourbon and Scotland? What if Shin-chan happens to run into them and discovers something is wrong?"
Shuichi Akai shook his head, still refusing, his expression calm.
“If we tell him, they’ll really notice something’s wrong,” he said. “That kid is too bold, he’s willing to investigate anything. But bourbon Scotch is different from vodka and gin; they’re sharp, cunning, and deep-thinking. It’s better for Bouya, being a child, to be clueless when facing them. We adults can handle the rest.”
*
"Clang, clang, clang—"
The mysterious train has departed, carrying a whole trainload of people and speeding toward an unknown destination.
"Beep beep beep—"
The call bell rang in compartment A of carriage number seven, and the call light at the door also lit up red.
The conductor in charge of carriage number seven immediately got up from the chair at the back of the carriage, knocked on the door of room A, said a few words, and went inside.
"Click—"
The barely audible sound of a door opening rang out again, and the door to room C slowly opened, revealing a blond, dark-skinned man.
Wearing white gloves, he walked purposefully to the spot where the train conductor had been standing, picked up the passenger list, and quickly flipped through it.
"I see, thank you so much, Commander! Hahaha—" Date Wataru's hearty laughter echoed down the corridor.
Rei Furuya carefully put the list back in its original place after reviewing it, and quietly returned to his room.
He closed the door, sat by the window, propped his chin up, and watched the beautiful scenery rushing by outside while pondering things that weren't so beautiful.
The dining car on the mystery train is in carriage number five, which separates the four carriages behind it from the four carriages in front of it.
This incident will only affect carriages number six, seven, eight, and finally carriage number nine.
Rei Furuya recalled the passenger roster he had just reviewed and mentally went over the personnel arrangement once more.
Sera Masumi, Carriage 6, Room A.
Vermouth (Sharon Vineyard, Chris Vineyard), Carriage 6, Room B.
Yukiko Kudo, Carriage 6, Room C.
Ai Orikasa (Hiroki Sawada), Conan Edogawa (Shinichi Kudo), Ai Haibara (Sherry, Shiho Miyano), Genta Kojima, Ayumi Yoshida, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, Carriage 6, Room D.
Subaru Okiya (Dai Moroboshi, Rei, Shuichi Akai), Carriage 6, Room E.
Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, Date Wataru, Carriage 7, Room A.
Ankyo Yukito, Carriage 7, Room B.
Tooru Amuro (Bourbon, Rei Furuya), Carriage 7, Room C.
Hikaru Midorikawa (Scottish, Hiromitsu Morofushi), Carriage 7, Room D.
Masako Katsuki (Sakiko Tamagawa, Akemi Miyano), Carriage 7, Room E.
Noto Taisaku, Carriage 8, Room A.
Kogoro Mouri, Ran Mouri, Sonoko Suzuki, Carriage 8, Room B.
Anton Yu, Carriage 8, Room C.
Kaito Kid and his accomplice (Kaito Kuroba and Kinosuke Terai), carriage number eight, room D.
Demise Mari, Carriage 8, Room E.
And Gin and Vodka, who are planting bombs in Nagoya while waiting for the train to arrive.
Great, all the actors are in place.
The show can begin now.
*
Gin, the hunt has begun.
—Vermouth
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