Chapter 281 Seventy-Threeth Cycle (111)
October 28th.
As the weather gets colder, the streets become even more lively, with people dressed in strange and unusual clothes everywhere.
Halloween-related items have appeared not only on the streets, but also at the entrances of most shops and residences.
The most common of these is the pumpkin lantern.
Professor Agasa also hung two pumpkin lanterns at the door, then turned to Ai Haibara in front of him and asked, "Ai, are they hanging correctly?"
Ai Haibara nodded: "Yes, it's very neat."
Professor Agasa turned to the people in the room and asked, "Ai, what are you going to hang over there? Isn't just hanging pumpkin lanterns a bit too monotonous?"
Hiroki Sawada picked up a ghost lamp from among the children: "They want to hang this outside the door, but they're afraid it'll scare the other people, right?"
Professor Agasa blinked: "Huh? Although our neighbors seem to have come back and are home more often lately, they don't seem like the type to be scared by something like this, do they?"
Ai Haibara walked in: "Let it go. Others may not know, but if the Doctor suddenly saw it at night, he would definitely be terrified."
Dr. Agasa: "..."
Ayumi Yoshida turned around excitedly and called Ai Haibara over: "Ai, Ai! I've finished making the witch's hat! Come and try it on!"
A massive Halloween cosplay event started today in Ikebukuro and will run from October 28th to October 30th.
Today is October 28th, but their costumes aren't finished yet, so they decided to gather at Professor Agasa's house and help each other out.
Ai Haibara wasn't interested in this, but she couldn't resist the children's invitation and reluctantly agreed to play the witch.
Therefore, she had a lot of resentment towards Conan Edogawa, who had escaped unscathed.
Wearing that elaborate black witch's wide-brimmed hat, she turned and blocked Sawada Hiroki's way as he was about to leave, instantly cosplaying a sinister and evil witch as she asked in a deep voice, "Where are you going? To find Edogawa?"
Hiroki Sawada, carrying his bag, smiled and said with his eyes crinkling, "No, I have other things to do."
"Really?" Ai Haibara crossed her arms and looked at him, her face full of dissatisfaction and suspicion. "You two have been sneaking around together lately, I don't know what you've been up to. When I ask you, you pretend to be clueless. What is it that you have to hide from me?"
As she spoke, her expression gradually darkened, and she whispered, "Could it be the organization..."
"No, no, no." Hiroki Sawada quickly waved his hand. "This really isn't about the organization. You don't need to worry. We'll definitely tell you when we're ready."
Ai Haibara: "..."
All right.
To be honest, Ai Haibara wouldn't mind hiding something one more time. She already knew that everyone around her had secrets they couldn't tell, and she herself was one of them.
As long as it's confirmed that it's not related to the organization or the sister, it's fine.
On her way back, she overheard three children protesting against Conan Edogawa for not participating in their Junior Detective Club's Halloween activities.
"What on earth is Conan doing? Inspector Sato's wedding is coming up soon, and he hasn't even decided what to wear yet. What is he busy with?"
"I don't know, maybe they're secretly investigating some case behind our backs. But what's going on with Officer Takagi and the other guy? They're rushing something as important as getting married, and they even have a Halloween cosplay wedding. It's more casual than the wedding games we used to play."
"Genta, this isn't the old era anymore. You're too old-fashioned. You know, nowadays people cosplay all sorts of real-life and anime characters for Halloween. It's not just about the same old vampires and werewolves anymore. It's perfectly normal for young people to do something different for their weddings."
"Yes, yes, Mitsuhiko is right, and it feels even more romantic and fun this way! Ayumi says she's really looking forward to it!"
Ai Haibara: "..."
However, is a Halloween cosplay wedding really romantic?
*
Conan Edogawa is indeed busy investigating the case.
Mr. Amuro received a phone call last night and left in a hurry, clearly something had happened, which made his vigilance and curiosity go wild.
However, since the other party did not offer an explanation, he would not go directly to them to ask, lest he accidentally touch upon something "that cannot be said".
However, based on Hiroki Sawada's hints, he knew that something big was about to happen that would endanger Mr. Amuro, something so big it would make the news.
As for what the event was, when it happened, and where it occurred, he knew nothing about it.
Conan Edogawa knew that this probably meant the question had been revealed, and he was now left to guess and investigate on his own.
Or, to put it another way, "even prophets cannot fully predict the future."
This was the first major event he had become involved in since discovering the truth about the new world, and it was also related to Mr. Amuro's life and death, making it impossible for him to calmly wait for everything to happen.
Having just learned that Mr. Amuro was about to face a terrible death, and it seems like it's about to happen in the blink of an eye, Conan Edogawa was so anxious that he couldn't sleep all night.
Unable to sleep, I started investigating online and offline to see if anything major had happened recently.
Sure enough, thanks to his extensive network of contacts, he learned about a major event before it was even reported in the news.
Kiyoko Yamaguchi, the heiress of the Yamaguchi-gumi, escaped from prison yesterday evening during the police shift change.
The others didn't say much about the specifics, but Officer Takagi chatted with him for a few more minutes and mentioned that two bomb smugglers had also escaped from prison a few days ago and hadn't been caught yet; the police had even issued arrest warrants for them.
Conan Edogawa asked for the name, and then actually found the information online.
What's outrageous is that these two bombers were actually escaping from prison for the second time.
Conan Edogawa: "..."
If one, two, or three people are involved, will the prison still be able to function?
By the way, coincidentally, all three escaped prisoners are connected to Mr. Date and his group.
Takagi Wataru skillfully shared the information he knew with Edogawa Conan on the other end of the network.
The three of them were initially brought in by Mr. Date, Mr. Hagiwara, and Mr. Matsuda, so they seem to be quite busy these past few days.
Conan Edogawa instantly sat upright on the bed.
This is it!
This must be it; the time and the person match up perfectly!
Although there are no specific reports about the police online, coincidentally, Wataru Takagi knows a little about everything.
The two bombers were arrested seven years ago, when they nearly caused an extremely tragic incident and even used more than ten million people as hostages to threaten and mock the police.
At the time, Matsuda Jinpei and his colleagues had only graduated a month prior, yet they perfectly solved the case. Matsuda Jinpei defused the bomb, while Date Wataru and Hagiwara Kenji stayed below and caught the criminal who almost escaped.
Then, three years ago, one of the bombers escaped from prison, intending to take revenge on Matsuda Jinpei, who had defused his bomb.
However, it just so happened that Matsuda Jinpei was temporarily assigned to the First Investigation Division at the time, where he worked with Date Wataru and Hagiwara Kenji.
So, after a few days of chaos, the prisoner was caught again by the three men and imprisoned once more.
Unexpectedly, they escaped from prison again three years later. With the hatred building up from these several incidents, they are likely to continue to seek revenge on the three men.
Kiyoko Yamaguchi's story has more traces online. There are many true and false rumors online about the "Operation Summit," which shocked the whole country at the time and raided and reformed the yakuza organizations in Kabukicho, but Wataru Takagi said that most of them were actually false.
However, there are indeed some examples. For instance, Matsuda Jinpei was one of the biggest contributors to infiltrating the Yamaguchi-gumi's inner circle. He even personally handcuffed Yamaguchi Kiyoko and took her to the police car.
Amuro Tooru doesn't seem to be involved in any of these cases, but Conan Edogawa believes there's a high probability he was secretly involved.
Especially Kiyoko Yamaguchi.
Conan Edogawa hasn't forgotten that Tooru Amuro was once a legendary host, a fox spirit. His achievement of earning 3 billion yen in three days was actually created by Kiyoko Yamaguchi alone.
After going through all the information in his mind, Conan Edogawa had a general idea of what was going on.
Yesterday's phone call was probably made by the police to Mr. Amuro, informing him that Kiyoko Yamaguchi had escaped from prison, so Mr. Amuro immediately left to deal with the situation.
Could the danger that Mr. Amuro encountered be related to Kiyoko Yamaguchi?
Very likely.
Kiyoko Yamaguchi is very powerful; in fact, she has already taken control of most of the Yamaguchi-gumi.
If it weren't for Mr. Amuro and his team catching her red-handed, she might not have gone to prison and would have controlled the entire Yamaguchi-gumi, growing to a point where even the government couldn't touch her.
Moreover, the Yamaguchi-gumi has not disbanded even now. Although its power has been suppressed time and again, it still exists, and its past glory can ignite the current situation.
While it's unlikely to pose a significant threat to the country and society, retaliating against a few police officers is perfectly acceptable.
In the dead of night, the black-haired boy was holding his phone, not sleeping, and clenching his fist, he vowed in his heart that he would protect Mr. Amuro.
Although neither of them directly confirmed it, they all implied that he was a very important part of the process.
"I'm the protagonist," Conan Edogawa thought. "Then will I be the savior?"
...Actually, Conan Edogawa wasn't very confident about this.
He is a detective who walks in the darkest corners of humanity from beginning to end. He has witnessed countless tragedies and misfortunes, but he is not always able to save the victims alive in time.
The only thing Conan Edogawa can guarantee is that he will find out the truth and clear the name of everything hidden in the darkness.
And... does the organization's intense interest in the surname "Kudo" mean they've glimpsed a corner of the world's truth?
With too many thoughts running through his mind, Conan Edogawa barely slept. Three or four hours later, he went out to investigate the case as soon as it was light.
Actually, he wanted to try to ambush Kazami Yuya to gather information, but he didn't see Kazami Yuya. Instead, he ran into Takagi Wataru, who was on his way to work.
"Ah, it's Conan-kun." Takagi Wataru bent down and smiled. "Perfect timing, I'm going to investigate the two bomber escape cases you asked about last night."
Conan Edogawa's attention shifted instantly: "What? You found them?"
These two are also ticking time bombs; it would be best to deal with them as soon as possible.
“Someone anonymously reported it,” Takagi Wataru said. “Although it’s unlikely, we’ve decided to check it out anyway.”
Conan Edogawa looked around: "Where are Inspector Date and the others? Aren't they going?"
“They seem to be busy with other important things; I haven’t seen them since yesterday,” Takagi Wataru said.
Police officers generally do not pry into each other's concealed case details, even if they have a good relationship.
"I want to go too!" Conan Edogawa made the decision immediately and got into Wataru Takagi's car.
“Okay.” Takagi Wataru skillfully guided him through the case, even asking for his opinion. “Conan-kun, have you noticed anything unusual? Why are you investigating those two people?”
The inside story of this matter involves Amuro Tooru's true identity as Public Security Officer Furuya Rei, which really can't be told to Officer Takagi.
Conan Edogawa could only laugh it off and change the subject, saying, "Oh, there are people cosplaying zombies outside. Has Halloween already started?"
Upon hearing this, Takagi Wataru sighed: "Don't even mention it, the Metropolitan Police Department is practically going bald from worrying about traffic safety on Halloween."
Conan Edogawa suddenly realized: "It's about Shibuya, isn't it? That makes sense. Shibuya is known as the world's busiest intersection. It's said that about 3,000 people cross that intersection every minute, and about 2.5 million people move through Shibuya every minute. It's already like this on weekdays, let alone on Halloween night. The police must be extremely busy."
Takagi Wataru let out a pained cry: "And even though we've stated several times that Shibuya won't be holding Halloween events, it's actually more lively there than Ikebukuro and Akihabara, where Halloween cosplay events are currently being held. I just don't understand..."
*
"I'm not cosplaying! I'm not a cosplayer! I'm not doing cosplay! I'm a real police officer!!!"
Hagiwara Chisato even had to get off the car and push the motorcycle.
"Please don't crowd! Please step back a little!"
Chisato Hagiwara struggles amidst a group of strangely dressed demons, monsters, and anime/movie/TV cosplay characters.
"I really am a police officer! A real police officer! I'm not kidding you!"
The beautiful and dashing policewoman with long brown hair and blue eyes still stood out the most among a group of eye-catching Halloween costumes.
"Huh? Just because someone's good-looking means they can't be a police officer? I don't have a gun, because I'm a traffic cop!!!"
Hagiwara Chisato found it both funny and infuriating. Seeing that they were still half-believing and half-doubting her and deliberately messing with her, causing serious disruption to normal traffic, she raised her eyebrows and was about to explode.
"Wait! Calm down! Calm down! Don't do anything reckless!" Yokomizo Shigego rushed into the crowd and pulled her back, telling her to stop doing what she was supposed to do and write a self-criticism, while also sternly telling others not to crowd around and obstruct traffic.
The imposing, intimidating-looking police officer intimidated the others, and the crowd, who had only come to join the fun, quickly dispersed.
"Seriously, why is Yokohama so dangerous? Most people who usually can't even make eye contact with others are letting loose on Halloween, are they?"
Hagiwara Chisato didn't really care about any of that. She quickly shifted her attention and even took out her phone to take a few photos of the huge crowds to share with her friends and family.
But Yokomizo Shigego became concerned and continued to frown, saying, "It's only the 28th and it's already like this. What will it be like on the 31st? Why does Halloween seem so crazy this year?"
"Things are alright here in Kanagawa," Hagiwara Chisato said, mounting her motorcycle. "You have no idea how tense things have been in Tokyo these past few days, especially in Shibuya."
She patted the back of the motorcycle and told him to get on.
“I’m such a big man… wouldn’t it be inappropriate for me to sit behind you?” Yokomizo Shigego refused, saying, “Actually, I came to you to tell you something.”
"Then you can sit in the front? I can hold you while I drive, right?" Hagiwara Chisato said. "What's up?"
"..." Yokomizo Shigego's lips twitched. Ignoring the previous sentence, he took out his phone and showed it to her, saying, "Weren't you keeping an eye on those two escaped bombers these past few days? The two your brother arrested. They've been caught."
Hagiwara Chisato was taken aback and immediately picked up his phone to look at it.
The page displayed a news article about what happened at noon today, highlighting that the biggest contributor to catching the two bombers was actually a primary school student.
The black-haired elementary school student being interviewed has round blue eyes and wears a pair of honest black-rimmed glasses. He looks at the camera innocently and says, "It was just a coincidence. I happened to see the wanted posters for those two criminals on TV, and I never expected to see them hiding in an abandoned building while playing hide-and-seek with my friends. I don't know what they were doing... Actually, I was quite scared. Kids, don't follow my example! I'm only safe because of the police officer who happened to be with me at the time!"
Yokomizo Shigego said, "Actually, it wasn't a coincidence. That kid wasn't an ordinary person; he was excessively intelligent. He definitely participated on his own initiative this time. My friend at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department also said that although Takagi was indeed with him, it was actually him who saved Takagi. That kid even defused a bomb by himself."
Hagiwara Chisato was silent for a few seconds, then laughed: "Yeah, he's definitely not an ordinary kid. I've heard my brother and his friends complain about him a few times, but I didn't expect there to be something even more outrageous... But he's a good kid, and I'll have to find a chance to thank him later."
Yokomizo Shigeo: "?"
Hagiwara Chisato didn't explain, handed the phone back to him, and leaned on the motorcycle, laughing, "I heard Takagi and Sato are getting married? Want to go and join the fun?"
Yokomizo Shigego frowned: "That one's fake, why go and join the fun? Aren't you busy enough these past few days?"
Hagiwara Chisato sighed regretfully, "Yes, it's such a pity, I really didn't have time to go."
"Alright, stop worrying about that and focus. Our mission tonight is no simple task," said Yokomizo Shigego.
"Transferring the Pramie from Yokohama Port to the United States, right?"
Hagiwara Chisato put on his helmet and started the motorcycle.
"I understand, I'll go prepare right away. I'll make sure there are no traffic problems at the trading site."
*
“See, I told you they wouldn’t fall for your trick,” Kiyoko Yamaguchi said. “As expected, we still need my plan to catch that incredibly cunning fox.”
"Useless trash!" Pramia was so angry that she pressed the bomb button to kill the two decoys.
"Wait, those two are still useful for now." Kiyoko Yamaguchi raised her hand to stop her.
The woman with warm, long golden hair turned to look at her, but her blue eyes were cold and filled with murderous intent.
"Don't rush." Kiyoko Yamaguchi leaned back in her chair, her long black hair slowly cascading down, and chuckled softly, "Don't be too rough or impatient. Hunting a cunning fox requires patience. They've already fallen into our trap; catching them is only a matter of time."
“But I still prefer explosions.” Pramia’s eyes gradually turned to fanatical excitement. He chuckled and said, “The entire organization from Nadunichtokitti has come. Why don’t we blow up the whole island nation and sink it into the Pacific Ocean?”
Kiyoko Yamaguchi: "..."
Kiyoko Yamaguchi: "Darling, you may have forgotten, but my organization is here too."
Pramia: "..."
Pramia: "Tsk."
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