Chapter 283, Seventy-Third Cycle (113)
"It is reported that multiple explosions occurred in Yokohama around noon on October 29th, which is today. Police stated that the perpetrator likely entered Yokohama illegally from abroad, and an investigation and manhunt are currently underway..."
The large screen on the street is showing today's news.
"Because the explosions almost all occurred at transportation hubs, they caused severe traffic congestion and overcrowding. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported so far."
A passerby exclaimed, "I've seen the videos and pictures online. The explosion was so huge, it looked terrifying. How come there were no casualties? What was the perpetrator's purpose? Was he just a pleasure-seeker who enjoys causing destruction?"
One person answered, "It's probably because the explosions occurred in abandoned or under-construction areas where there was no one around. It seems the perpetrator wasn't that depraved; he was still afraid of getting into real trouble."
No, there are people inside.
Conan Edogawa pursed his lips.
The specific details are simply unknown to most people.
Even Conan Edogawa doesn't know yet...
The phone suddenly lit up, but it didn't mean there was any new progress in the matter.
It was Ran Mouri who called, asking him when he was coming back.
She was unaware that Conan Edogawa was also involved in the explosion; she only knew that Conan Edogawa and Professor Agasa had gone to Yokohama.
However, Conan Edogawa had promised to go back tonight, but now that he's back in Tokyo and there's still no word from him, she's a little worried.
"Sorry, Ran-neechan, I'll be staying at Professor Agasa's house tonight."
Conan Edogawa hung up the phone, turned around and glanced at the deserted alley not far away. His voice suddenly turned cold as he said, "Come out."
The alley remained quiet.
"Weren't you looking for me?" Conan Edogawa stepped forward. "Let's not waste time and get straight to the point."
Upon hearing this, three people emerged from around the corner of the alley.
The person standing at the very front was none other than Kazami Yuya, whom Edogawa Conan had been waiting for, except that his head was wrapped in bandages.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but then tensed up again, frowning as he asked, "You're injured? Was Mr. Kazami also at the explosion site this afternoon? Then, how is he?"
Just in case, Conan Edogawa still didn't directly reveal Rei Furuya's name.
Kazami Yuya adjusted his glasses: "If you want to know the specifics, please come with us, Edogawa-kun."
Conan Edogawa naturally agreed to go with them, even though his eyes were covered by a black cloth and he had no idea where they were taking him.
"Is Mr. Amuro alright?"
Having confirmed the other party's identity and purpose, Conan Edogawa was finally able to directly inquire about Mr. Amuro's safety.
In complete darkness, other senses become more acute.
Conan Edogawa noticed the rapidly changing frequency of Yuya Kazami's breathing and his suppressed voice.
"For now... it's relatively safe," Kazami Yuya said.
Is it safe now? For the time being?
So Mr. Amuro really didn't get hurt in that explosion?!
While Conan Edogawa breathed a huge sigh of relief, even more doubts and worries immediately arose.
"drop--"
The elevator stopped after shaking, and the person behind him gently nudged him, allowing Conan Edogawa to step out of the elevator.
As the person behind him untied the blindfold, Conan Edogawa could already hear the familiar commotion.
"Ahhh, Jinpei, don't do that! Be gentle! Be gentle! Furuya can't breathe!!!"
"Hagi! You're so noisy!"
"Matsuda, you..."
"Shut up, you blond bastard!"
"Ah, Conan-kun is here."
The blindfold was finally removed, and the scene before him came into clear view.
This is a spacious, dimly lit basement with no windows. Apart from a few pillars, there is only a small space in the very center that seems to be separated by glass.
The blond youth he had been worried about was now inside the glass case, sitting obediently in a chair, craning his neck for Matsuda Jinpei to examine.
Conan Edogawa immediately put on his glasses and took a few steps forward to see clearly what was around the blond youth's neck—the metal collar looked like a bomb.
Matsuda Jinpei's apprehensive and furious demeanor further confirmed his suspicions.
Meanwhile, Kenji Hagiwara and Wataru Date stood outside the glass enclosure, watching them intently.
"Damn it, even Kojinpei couldn't defuse the bomb immediately this time?" Kenji Hagiwara yelled, pressed against the glass. "That's why I shouldn't have let Furuya act so recklessly! That way, he wouldn't have been put on the bomb by Pramia!"
“But what Furuya did wasn’t wrong. We tried our best, but then another accident happened over there…” Date Wataru held up a phone next to him, sighed helplessly, and finally didn’t finish his sentence.
"Alright, alright, everything will be alright now, isn't everything alright?" Rei Furuya's voice came through the microphone held by Wataru Date.
At the same time, the blond youth inside the glass room turned his head and smiled at the black-haired child who emerged from the darkness.
Conan Edogawa initially thought he wouldn't be able to laugh, but seeing the unharmed group continuing their usual antics, he couldn't help but smile.
"Really..."
It's as if as long as these few people are still arguing and making noise, they can solve any problem, no matter how big it is.
Conan Edogawa walked up to the glass protective shield and could see everything more clearly.
Rei Furuya and Jinpei Matsuda were sitting and standing near the glass enclosure.
There was a table next to it with some odds and ends on it, including a computer, a telephone and a cell phone, as well as paper documents, and even a bottle of wine and a few wine glasses.
Upon entering, Conan Edogawa discovered that there was absolutely no sound coming from inside the glass case, nor was there the slightest vibration.
The sound he just heard must have come directly from the phone.
Conan Edogawa turned his head and glanced at Kenji Hagiwara, who was still pressed against the glass.
He thought this person could actually communicate directly with the people inside, which is why he got so close, but it turns out that's not the case at all.
Rei Furuya gently patted Jinpei Matsuda's hand.
Matsuda Jinpei looked displeased but still let go.
Upon gaining his freedom, Rei Furuya immediately picked up the phone on the table, took a step forward, and sat down, making direct eye contact with the black-haired child outside through the glass.
"You've arrived," the blond youth said with a smile. "Conan-kun."
At such close range, the happy smile on his face became very clear.
Because he was holding a microphone at that moment, his voice also became louder.
Date Wataru handed the microphone outside to Edogawa Conan.
Conan Edogawa took it, smiled, and then his expression became extremely serious: "Is there anything I can help you with?"
“Of course, there’s one thing I can only ask of you now,” the blond youth said with a smile.
"What is it?" Conan Edogawa asked seriously.
“Help me investigate Pramia,” Rei Furuya said.
"Hmm." Conan Edogawa nodded and continued to look at him, but after several seconds, he found that there was no further response.
Conan Edogawa: "?"
Conan Edogawa couldn't help but press, "Anything else?"
"Anything else?" Furuya Rei blinked, reaching for a stack of documents on the table beside him. "Is it specific information about the Pramia? I do know about it; it was hard-won from those higher-ups..."
"No." Conan Edogawa interrupted him, his eyes fixed on the collar around his neck. "Did you forget to mention your situation? That's a bomb, isn't it? How do you plan to deal with it?"
The blond youth paused in his action of picking up the documents, put them down again, switched hands to hold the phone, and raised his other hand to gently stroke the metal bomb collar around his neck. He lowered his eyes and said, "Don't worry about that."
"This is an underground bunker belonging to the public security department. We're separated by reinforced, explosion-proof special glass that can also block signals," he said casually, even with a smile. "Even if an explosion happens on my side, it won't harm your side, and the people on the surface won't feel a thing."
He seemed completely unconcerned, as if the bomb collar around his neck was just an ornament.
In contrast, his three companions were much more nervous and worried.
Conan Edogawa finally turned his questioning gaze to Matsuda Jinpei, who stood behind the blond youth, arms crossed, looking more annoyed than a bomb about to explode.
Matsuda Jinpei put the sunglasses hanging from his collar back on, and while rolling up his sleeves, said seriously, "Do you want to beat him up? I can do it for you."
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Date patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, we've got you covered here in Furuya. We won't let anything happen to him."
Kenji Hagiwara also squatted down, his eyes crinkling as he said, "Don't worry, there's no bomb in this world that Xiaozhen Ping can't dismantle."
Unless he can't dismantle it.
“Alright…” Conan Edogawa still trusted them. “But how exactly did Pramia manage to plant the bomb on Mr. Amuro? And what was the situation with the explosion at noon today?”
"It was to save me." Kazami Yuya's voice suddenly came from behind.
Conan Edogawa turned around in surprise and found that he hadn't left and was still standing quietly at the elevator door.
"Mr. Furuya and the others had already dealt with the bomb. If it weren't for saving me, Mr. Furuya wouldn't have been planted with the bomb by Pramie..."
"Alright." Furuya Rei interrupted him, saying helplessly, "Protecting my subordinates is also one of my responsibilities, isn't it only natural? Besides, if I hadn't sent you to evacuate the nearby crowd, you wouldn't have encountered Pramia. Stop dwelling on this, Kazami. You have other more important things to do, don't you?"
After a few words, the disappointment and guilt on Kazami Yuya's face turned into gratitude and determination, and he turned around to get back to work.
Conan Edogawa roughly understood what had happened, but still needed to confirm, so he turned around and asked, "When did you find out that Pramie in the prison had been replaced?"
“Shortly after the capture of the two escaped bombers,” Furuya Rei said.
"So early?" Conan Edogawa was a little surprised. "I thought it was shortly before the explosion..."
"They've been trying to lure us into going to capture Pramia alone," Kenji Hagiwara said, his face darkening. "Because we didn't fall for it, they eventually made such a big fuss and forced us to go see her."
"So the escape of those two bombers was also related to Pramia?" Having received confirmation, Conan Edogawa blurted out his guess in one breath. "The real Pramia was replaced in that surgery two years ago, right? Was it Kiyoko Yamaguchi who helped her? Does the Yamaguchi-gumi still have that much power?"
“It’s not just the Yamaguchi-gumi’s strength.” Rei Furuya twirled the telephone cord around his finger a few times. “To be more precise, it’s the result of Kiyoko Yamaguchi and Pramia working together and helping each other.”
“The power of Pramia…” Conan Edogawa paused, a detail of the FBI’s sudden attempt to take Pramia away flashing through his mind. He abruptly looked up and met his gaze. “It can’t be…”
“Hmm.” The blond youth chuckled softly, his purplish-gray eyes turning slightly cold. He said, “Some people above have had past interests and secret entanglements with Pramia, and it’s not just one or two people or one or two countries involved. It’s only because Pramia caused such a big commotion this time that the higher-ups reluctantly released the information. It was just delivered.”
Conan Edogawa was speechless for a moment.
The situation is quite clear: Pramiya actually has connections with high-ranking officials in various countries and is a tool kept by high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen.
She was indeed a madwoman who enjoyed killing and causing destruction, but she also had an employer-employee relationship with those people and held leverage over some powerful figures. Therefore, she could often sneak around through back channels, and the police never really bothered to arrest her.
Rei Furuya took the laptop off the table, typed a few keys, and turned the screen to show him.
“You should also know about the organization [Nadunichtokitti]. It originated in Russia and is actually an organization composed of people from all over the world who seek revenge against Pramiya,” he said. “This person is the leader of the organization, named Elenika Labrencheva. Her husband and son died at the hands of Pramiya, and her brother almost died as well.”
"Her husband was a policeman, but he was killed while preparing to testify in court after arresting the son of a politician suspected of murder. Subsequently, her house was bombed by Pramiya, and she watched helplessly as her son was burned to death in front of her."
"Her brother also nearly died at the hands of Pramia three years ago, but was saved when we captured Pramia."
“There are others…”
Rei Furuya flipped through the documents with a rustling sound, briefly mentioning several obvious examples from that organization.
Conan Edogawa's expression grew increasingly serious as he listened, finally frowning as he said, "I see. That's why Pramia has been able to act so arrogantly around the world for so long, and why she hates you so much for capturing her."
He looked at the blond youth with a puzzled expression: "But after going through all this trouble, why did she put a collar bomb on Mr. Amuro? I understand that she didn't act before because she couldn't find Mr. Amuro, but why didn't she act immediately after luring you out this time?"
Rei Furuya pondered, "This is something I've been thinking about too. Maybe they've been searching for me for too long, and now that they've finally caught me, they want to torture me a bit? After all, Pramia has Kiyoko Yamaguchi by her side, and we haven't seen her yet."
That makes sense, but there are still some things that are not right.
But... since he's already made it so obvious but still won't say more, it's probably something he can't spoil.
Conan Edogawa changed the subject: "Prumia probably had plastic surgery two years ago, right? She's changed her appearance and gone into hiding now. Did you guys see what she looks like this time?"
Ida Kou shook his head: "She's still wearing a mask."
“However, there is one characteristic that she has retained to this day,” Kenji Hagiwara said.
"What?" Conan Edogawa instantly perked up.
“Three years ago, when we caught her, we injured her right hand, and she still has obvious aftereffects,” said Matsuda Jinpei.
Rei Furuya raised his hand and touched his right shoulder: "Back then, a bullet entered her right shoulder, and when she was later imprisoned, they asked her if she wanted it removed. But after learning that the surgery would affect the dexterity of her fingers, she refused without hesitation. So even now, although her right hand fingers can move freely, she cannot raise her entire arm because there is still a bullet in her shoulder."
Conan Edogawa carefully wrote it down, then casually asked, "Was it Mr. Amuro who fired the shot? It seems like Pramia hates you the most, and even waited until now to investigate before taking action."
"...It really is because of me." The blond youth mumbled quickly and vaguely, then changed the subject, saying, "Class monitor, show that photo to Conan."
"What photo?" Conan Edogawa's attention was immediately diverted.
Ida showed him his phone: "It's a group photo of us from our police academy days."
What? !
Conan Edogawa couldn't wait to snatch his phone and look at it.
The photo is indeed from their police academy days.
Five young men in police academy uniforms, their faces still bearing a youthful innocence quite different from how they are now, stood arm in arm, smiling at the camera, with the police academy gate behind them bearing the words "Metropolitan Police Department Police Academy" in large characters.
Wait, five people?
The phrase that Shuichi Akai had mentioned earlier about Pramia saying there were five police officers who had captured her flashed through his mind. Conan Edogawa's gaze swept carefully and quickly across the faces of the five people.
Actually, you don't need to look closely. The problem with this photo is obvious; anyone with normal eyesight can spot it at a glance.
Conan Edogawa pointed to the missing head of one of the people and turned to ask, "Is this person whose head has been erased Mr. Amuro?"
The person's head was turned completely black, clearly having been crudely and simply photoshopped out.
The remaining four people in the photo all have black hair and fair skin, and have no relation to the blonde, dark-skinned Furuya Rei.
“Hmm.” Furuya Rei nodded and smiled, “Because I went undercover, I basically destroyed the photos from my time at the police academy. This one was accidentally left behind.”
Conan Edogawa nodded in understanding, then tapped the phone screen to zoom in on the face of the person on the far left, exclaiming in surprise, "This person... looks like Inspector Morofushi, is he also one of your colleagues?"
Although the photo wasn't particularly clear, you could still clearly see the black-haired youth's upturned, round cat-like eyes and blue eyes.
Although there is a slight difference between his narrow, upturned phoenix eyes and Morofushi Takaaki's, at first glance, their facial features are almost identical, with the only difference being their age and beards.
“Yes, he is Mr. Gao Ming’s younger brother,” Furuya Rei said softly. “You should have heard something about him.”
Conan Edogawa did hear from Takaaki Morofushi that he had a younger brother who had been a policeman, but he didn't know why the younger brother stopped working as a policeman and where he was or what he was doing now.
A flash of inspiration struck Conan Edogawa. The fragmented pieces of information finally connected, and his eyes lit up, but he immediately frowned in confusion.
He was about to ask further questions when he was interrupted.
“Take this photo for now, it might come in handy later,” Furuya Rei said. “Kiyoko Yamaguchi and Pramia have big plans, not just to take revenge on us, they definitely have other bigger goals. I’ll have to ask Conan to investigate that goal, we’ll be tied up by this bomb for now.”
Returning to the topic of the bomb, Conan Edogawa became worried again: "Is this bomb really safe?"
Matsuda Jinpei stepped forward, raised his hand, and tapped on the glass: "What? Don't you believe in my skills?"
Conan Edogawa quickly shook his head: "Of course not!"
"Impulsiveness is a major taboo." Rei Furuya smiled, his tone still calm, and said to him, "It's alright. You've handled crises of this magnitude many times before, haven't you? This one will be handled smoothly too."
Conan Edogawa looked at him worriedly and said, "But this time is different..."
“It’ll be the same this time,” Furuya Rei affirmed. “It’s not time to despair yet. We’ll get through this safely this time too.”
Conan Edogawa was stunned for a moment.
Does this mean... it's not the final moment of death yet?
Without a word, all four of them nodded to him in unison.
Conan Edogawa finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to focus on investigating the Pramia affair.
*
October 30th.
Nine o'clock in the morning.
While pondering the situation, Conan Edogawa attended the wedding of Wataru Takagi and Miwako Sato.
He had always felt there was something wrong with the wedding, so he got involved in this emergency.
Unexpectedly, the wedding was attacked midway through, and even more unexpectedly, both the attack and the wedding were actually a drill by the Metropolitan Police Department and were fake.
Everything was for the real protagonist of the wedding—former Superintendent Nobuyuki Muraka.
Tsutomu Muranaka was a classmate and friend of Inspector Megure from the police academy, and was the top student in his class. He later made numerous outstanding achievements in his career, but retired two years ago due to serious injuries.
At the hospital, Nyu met his current fiancée, Christina Lissard.
After knowing each other and falling in love, the two are finally preparing to get married.
However, because Nobu had made too many enemies during his time as a policeman, someone somehow found out that he was getting married and recently sent him a threatening letter.
To prevent their former inspector from being attacked on his wedding day, and also for the safety and happiness of his friend, Inspector Megure led a group of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division who were not currently on duty to participate in the wedding rehearsal and security.
Conan Edogawa glanced at Tsutomu Muranaka and Christina over there, his brows furrowing slightly.
How come it's from two years ago again? Is it really just a coincidence?
Conan Edogawa returned to the Metropolitan Police Department with Inspector Sato and his team, hoping to gather more information.
He was allowed to follow up, of course, because he had some connection to the case they were investigating.
“We now suspect that the two bombers who escaped from prison before are also connected to Pramia,” said Miwako Sato. “Conan, think carefully, did you notice anything else when you arrested them?”
Takagi Wataru, standing nearby, said helplessly, "Didn't they say this case is under the jurisdiction of the police? Can we really continue the investigation?"
“Now we can really continue our investigation.” Inspector Megure pushed open the door and walked in. “Just now, Inspector Kazami from the Public Security Bureau submitted a request for assistance to our First Investigation Division. We will be working together with the Public Security Police. Also, the police in Kanagawa will be communicating with us and conducting joint investigations.”
Conan Edogawa blinked, an idea forming in his mind.
12 noon.
During the meeting, he asked Kazami Yuya several times, both openly and subtly, but was unable to obtain any information about Morofushi Takaaki's younger brother.
After Kazami Yuya left, several police officers, dissatisfied with the Public Security Bureau's constant use of phrases like "this is a secret" and "this is not something you should know," immediately gathered together to discuss the matter.
“It’s clear that the people who captured Pramia three years ago are now the key,” said Miwako Sato. “Pramia said there were five people. Besides Mr. Date, Mr. Hagiwara, and Matsuda, whom we know, the remaining two should be the focus.”
Takagi Wataru flipped through the classified documents he had just obtained from the Public Security Bureau: "Based on the testimony obtained during the interrogation of that fake Pramia, we know that the other two people are nicknamed Hiro and Zero, and that they have a good relationship with Mr. Date and the others."
Miwako Sato narrowed her eyes slightly: "They must be friends from the same police academy class. I knew I wasn't mistaken; the five most famous people in Mr. Date's class were definitely... The information on the other two is classified by the Public Security Bureau, could it be..."
"Ah, you mean Morofushi Kagemitsu and Furuya Rei?" Hagiwara Chisato, who was looking at her phone, suddenly said, making a startling statement, "I think I've heard their names from my younger brother."
The others turned around in shock: "?!"
Even Conan Edogawa's eyes widened in surprise.
Wait, was this something I could say before?!
Yokomizo Shigego immediately pressed, "What other information do you know about them?"
Hagiwara Chisato shook her head: "I only heard my younger brother complain about it a few times when he was in police academy. I've never met him in person, and I haven't heard him mention it again in his second year of graduate school."
Shiratori Ninzaburo suddenly suggested, "Why don't we search the police system files? Since they went to police academy, we might be able to find their information."
Conan Edogawa hesitated, but after glancing at the composed Chizuru Hagiwara, he quietly followed her to see what was going on.
Chiba Kazunobu first clicked to search for the name 【Morofushi Kagemitsu】, and surprisingly found it, but the information was very limited, only two lines.
Those two lines simply stated that he had attended police academy, worked as a police officer, and then resigned.
"That's it? That's all? Even after resigning, the information is deleted?" Chiba Kazunobu exclaimed in surprise. "Not even a photo!"
“Impossible,” Sato Miwako said definitively. “Mr. Kogoro Mouri’s information is still all in the database.”
"That's strange." Chiba Kazunobu couldn't figure it out, so he simply changed the name to [Furuya Rei] and continued searching.
However, after the search bar spun a few times and stopped, it was completely blank.
"Hmm?" Chiba and Shin searched again, but it was still blank.
Below the search engine results, there's a small gray line of text: "Sorry, there are 0 search results for 'Furuya Rei'."
"There is no such person?" The people in front of the screen were stunned.
Only Conan Edogawa subconsciously glanced down at his phone.
Even without opening the photo, the dark portrait in the group photo remained clearly in his mind.
It suddenly made him feel a sense of unease and panic.
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