Chapter 20, Chapter 19: The Countdown to Restart: We have prepared for you...
"Don't blink, the magic trick is about to begin."
Conan picked up the remote, turned off the TV that had been running all night, walked around Kogoro Mouri who was fast asleep on the sofa, bent down and picked up a few bottles that were blocking his way, and threw them into the trash can.
Ah—what a troublesome old man!
Despite being invited by Inspector Nakamori to arrest Kaito Kid today, he ended up getting completely drunk last night.
Having changed into his clothes and gear early, Conan looked at the unconscious Kogoro Mouri and shook his head deeply, feeling saddened that he now had to rely on such an unreliable adult to get involved in cases.
"Ah! Dad! Where did you go again last night!" Ran Mouri's angry voice rang out in the Mouri Detective Agency, followed by Kogoro Mouri's cry of pain as his ear was twisted and pulled up. The middle-aged man tried to justify himself by saying that he went to handle a case.
Wearing a green and white striped short-sleeved shirt, Conan put his hands in his shorts pockets and watched his childhood friend skillfully disciplining his unreliable father. He felt that even so, they probably wouldn't be able to arrive at the scene on time.
Well, Inspector Nakamori and Inspector Megure should be used to it by now. Koran revealed his crescent-shaped eyes, leaning against his modified skateboard, waiting for Kogoro Mouri to finish resting so they could set off together.
Just then, his cell phone rang in his pocket.
The black-haired, blue-eyed elementary school student straightened up, glanced at the incoming call message, and immediately opened the caller ID: "Moshi Moshi, what's up, Zhuge?"
"Conan, Conan, can you... hear me... over here...?"
"The noise is so loud, where are you, Zhuge Liang?" Conan frowned, picked up his skateboard, and was about to walk outside.
"Oh, that's great!" But the next second the voice suddenly became clear, and Zhuge Tongzhi's cheerful voice was stripped of the original crackling electrical noise.
The girl said thankfully on the phone, "It seems the signal jammer Professor Agasa gave me is still working, but the LED that shows the on/off status seems to be broken; it wasn't responding at all just now."
"So you called me to verify the effect?" Conan stopped in front of the Mouri Detective Agency, finding it hard to comment on this clumsy but effective method. He asked, "Why did you ask Dr. Agasa for a signal jammer?"
“Young man, the secrets of heaven cannot be revealed—” Zhuge Tongzhi said mysteriously on the other end of the phone. Accompanied by the sound of metal clashing and tattered tape being torn, she seemed to close a lid on something, followed by the sound of footsteps going downstairs.
"Anyway, it's not meant for breaking the law. If it can actually serve a purpose, that would be a great achievement!" The girl's voice came from the background, accompanied by the creaking sound of an old iron gate slowly closing. The atmosphere was full of the everyday life of the city. "Ayumi and the others have already set off, right? I'm going to meet up with you now."
"Hmm, but no rush, Uncle got drunk last night." Conan checked the group messages and confirmed that the trio had reunited and were heading this way. He didn't let Zhuge avoid his question.
"I don't know what you plan to do with the jammer, but it can't completely block signals," the detective earnestly reminded him. "Besides, where there's a jammer, there's a signal amplifier."
Zhuge Tongzhi had just installed the camera in the fire cabinet on the seventh floor of the apartment building, replaced the battery, and secured it with tape before coming downstairs.
Hearing Conan's reminder over the phone, she fumbled for the signal jammer she had tested in her pocket, paused for a moment, and looked at the path planning that O had initiated that morning in the void:
"Current path: Restart countdown and dazzling magic show (12%)"
"The user has selected the shortest path. Please proceed according to the navigation directions."
Next stop: Qingchuan Tower Jewelry Exhibition
"Please note that to ensure the smooth operation of the subsequent route, please arrive at your destination within 40 minutes."
This was the first time O-Dream Navigation had offered multiple branch lines to choose from, with each route marked with varying shades of yellow and red indicating congested areas. However, she ultimately chose the fastest, darkest red route.
After all, when the countdown restarts, the thing that's most lacking is time.
Completely ignorant of these technologies, she could only pin her hopes on Professor Agasa's inventions and pray that the signal jamming would buy her a tiny bit of time.
"Well, it's the only way I can do it." Zhuge Tongzhi sighed, glanced at the 40-minute countdown that had already begun, and asked on the phone as he walked towards the Mori family's house, "Can we get there in half an hour?"
"That's no problem." Conan waved to the Junior Detective League that appeared at the other end of the street. He saw Ran Mouri opening the window from upstairs, which meant that Kogoro Mouri had regained consciousness. He guessed that they would be ready to leave by the time Zhuge Tongzhi arrived.
The boy looked away, idly swaying his skateboard in a figure-eight pattern, and asked the girl on the other end of the phone, who sounded distressed, "Do you need help, Zhuge?"
"It's alright, Detective." Zhuge Tongzhi, who had been somewhat worried, suddenly felt relieved upon hearing the sweet voice on the other end of the phone. She replied half-jokingly, "I have the navigation on."
"Finding the right path shouldn't be a problem."
"That's not what I meant... Never mind, hurry up and come over." Conan decisively hung up the phone with his companion of the past week, straightened the direction of his skateboard, took a few steps to get a boost and did a beautiful Ollie, finally stopping the board in front of Professor Agasa and Ai Haibara who were walking together.
He really couldn't figure out Zhuge Tongzhi's personality. In the week they spent together and in the seven or eight cases, she neither stood out nor acted like an ordinary elementary school student. The only unusual thing that happened was the first time.
What puzzled Conan the most was that this person did rely heavily on mobile phone navigation, but the routes he took didn't seem to be designed by normal navigation.
Why do I say that?
After following Zhuge Tongzhi's route once, Ayumi Yoshida permanently lost a pink headband in some bushes and decided that she must wear braids next time she asked Zhuge to lead the way.
Moreover, this child did get along very well with the elementary school students, but her handwriting was terrible. It only improved after her Chinese teacher threatened to call her parents.
She was a strangely self-consistent girl, seemingly just precocious.
Although Shinichi Kudo, who had actually shrunk to the size of an elementary school student, had some suspicions about her identity, he wouldn't directly approach her and ask, "Have you taken APTX4869?" If she was just a passerby, this might actually drag her into the quagmire of the Black Organization.
Conan, having cleared the mess of yarn from his head, put away his skateboard and waved to Zhuge Tongzhi, who was running towards him with a backpack. He loudly greeted Yoshida Ayumi and the others. His messy hair, after seven days of rest, hadn't improved much and was still sticking up everywhere.
It's alright. Before finding the truth, the detective will have absolute patience and determination. Conan pushed up his glasses, the reflective lenses meeting Zhuge Tongzhi's gaze. He would keep watching her.
Until the truth is discovered.
Zhuge Tongzhi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. The girl shivered and followed Professor Agasa into the Detective Boys' car. They then set off with Kogoro Mouri's car towards their destination—Seikawa Tower.
"2 5:1 9:2 1"
…
Inside Qingchuan Tower
Inspector Ginzo Nakamori was busily arranging the police force at the scene. This officer, who had been fighting against the Phantom Thief Kid IP for almost his entire career, skillfully issued various facial verification commands, and the officers in various locations completed the deployment with great efficiency.
Hearing this, Phantom Thief Kid secretly gasped in amazement.
Uncle Nakamori really went too far this time. He disguised himself as a middle-aged cleaner, Kaito Kuroba, who is actually a high school student under the guise of Kaito Kid. He felt more and more that sneaking in to scout the place in advance was absolutely the right thing to do.
Because Inspector Nakamori moved the evening's deployment to the afternoon and began gathering manpower in the morning, Kaito Kuroba also got up early and sneaked in before any of the physical examination methods were used.
You know, a handsome phantom thief can't afford to make a mistake.
Kaito Kuroba lowered his hat brim and, under the guise of cleaning, quickly explored the structure of the several floors, pondering how best to sneak in when he made his official appearance that night.
It's a real shame this jewelry exhibition wasn't organized by that Uncle Suzuki Jirokichi; otherwise, he wouldn't even need to disguise himself—he could just put his hair down with a hat and walk right in. Kuroba Kaito secretly lamented. Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran had volunteer work to do today and couldn't come.
"Let's see first," Kaito Kuroba said, walking up a few floors. He paused three or four floors from the top, estimating the distance between the exhibition and the top floor, and realized he might not be able to reach the top in time.
Let's keep something in reserve here. A middle-aged man in a green sanitation worker's uniform, carrying a set of cleaning equipment, emerged from the fire escape with a slight hunchback and bumped shoulders with a man in a baseball cap who was hurrying by.
The brush clanged against the bucket; the impact was far from minor, but the man walked straight into the fire escape and went downstairs without even looking back.
strangeness.
Kaito Kuroba glanced at the person's back. As a super high-rise building, the Harukawa Tower naturally has very convenient elevators. Why would that person choose to go down the fire escape so close to the top floor?
The daring and meticulous thief glanced at the facilities in the corridor, locked onto a natural-looking decoration, hid a playing card gun and a compressed hot air balloon bag behind it, and then began to wander around the building.
The poker gun and the compressed package were made to look like children's toys, and the several hidden snaps were very well concealed. Ordinary people couldn't see where they could be unlocked at all. He wasn't worried at all that these devices would fall into the hands of ordinary people and cause trouble.
Hey hey hey, let the handsome phantom thief see what secrets are hidden here!
The cleaner carried the cleaning bucket and slowly walked down the corridor.
"1 2 : 3 9 : 0 1"
…
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
The police officers of the First Investigation Division are so busy with the ever-increasing crime rate in Beika Town that they are constantly on the go. Every day, they wake up to receive reports, investigate cases, and take statements. When they close their eyes, they dream about reporting reports, investigating cases, and taking statements, only to wake up to find that the statements are indeed not yet finished.
In short, he's the worst kind of corporate slave.
In the midst of a bustling and enthusiastic atmosphere, a ringtone without any caller ID suddenly sounded, but no one had a free hand to answer it at the moment.
Date patted Takagi Wataru on the shoulder, telling the young man to continue giving his statement, and then got up to answer the phone.
There was a crackling sound from the phone, followed by a sharp, piercing sound like fingernails scratching a blackboard. Ida Kou frowned, pressed the receiver back onto the landline, and turned on the speakerphone.
The piercing noise instantly echoed throughout the First Investigation Division's office area, and the officers stopped what they were doing and looked up at the source of the noise.
Sato Miwako decisively put down what she was doing and strode over to Date Wataru, where they stared together at the still-malfunctioning landline phone.
Takagi Wataru made an apologetic gesture to the person involved and then stood in front of the landline phone.
After waiting for half a minute, a human voice mixed with static finally came through the phone. It was immediately obvious that it was a processed voice. He signaled to Takagi Wataru, who had a notebook in his hand, to prepare to take notes on the call.
A hoarse voice slowly rang out through the loudspeaker in the Metropolitan Police Department:
"Gentlemen of the Metropolitan Police Department, listen to the 'prelude to Hell Transformation'—"
"Noon's eyes, seven's flames, and rats' clear rivers' sky are worn."
The midday awakening is seven blazing flames, and even a mouse can pierce through the clear sky.
"Yumen's pseudo-black ship's violence, Oni's island's banquet and Huangquan's temptation."
The disguise of Yumen is exposed by the black ship, and the feast on Ghost Island lures people to the underworld.
"Today at noon, 'Momotaro' is the ghost who retreats... all the ghosts are gone."
At noon today, just like Momotaro subduing the demon... let everything return to nothingness.
"You scumbag cops, I've informed you of the locations of the two bombs." The voice on the landline suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter, and amidst the increasingly noisy static, he said, "Please make sure I get to enjoy the beautiful fireworks."
After a period of unbearable static, the call was disconnected.
Date Wataru's face darkened. He took the paper record from Takagi Wataru, quickly took a picture and uploaded it to the First Investigation Division's group chat. Then he exchanged a glance with Inspector Sato, grabbed the notebook, and rushed into the stairwell.
It involves bombs, and in two places.
It seems the twin stars of the "virginity-exploding group" are about to make their move.
"0 2 :2 6 :3 1"
…
Inside Qingchuan Pagoda.
As Zhuge Tongzhi watched Kogoro Mouri exchanging pleasantries with the jewelry exhibition organizers, the O-do navigation page in front of him suddenly flickered, and the icon on the route progress map suddenly moved forward a big step, flashing from the green section to the yellow section.
"Current path: Restart countdown and dazzling magic show (32%)"
"Please note that there is traffic congestion ahead. Please drive carefully."
The girl with black hair and black eyes glanced at the countdown bar, which had suddenly turned red. The numbers, which had been jumping steadily all along, had now reached their end.
"0 0 :0 0 :0 1"
…
"Hagi, which way do you want to go?"
The curly-haired police officer took the notebook from the squad leader, glanced at it, and then asked his childhood friend who had come over to look at it with him.
"Let's go to Qingchuan Tower."
The officer with medium-length hair thought for a moment and realized that it would be more difficult for the other party to meticulously plant a bomb in the building where an event was currently being held, compared to the residential apartment building where familiar social circles were located. So he naturally took on this more difficult task.
"I'm fine with anything, anyway..."
Matsuda Jinpei casually wrote down the two decrypted locations in his notebook, handed it back to Date Wataru, and turned to retrieve various anti-explosive equipment. The members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team quickly sprang into action.
"It only takes three minutes anyway, right, Jinpei?" Hagiwara Kenji caught the riot helmet his childhood friend tossed him and winked playfully at Matsuda Jinpei. "Where are we going to eat tonight?"
"Don't let your guard down, hagi." Matsuda Jinpei finished organizing his squad, turned to look at his childhood friend who was just as outstanding as himself, and said, "Let's eat at the usual place."
"Yay! Kenji-chan is motivated to work again." Hagiwara Kenji's actions effectively lightened the slightly tense atmosphere. Matsuda Jinpei smiled and bumped fists with his childhood friend.
The two fists, which had always been inseparable since childhood, gently bumped together and quickly separated.
"Explosive Virginity Team, let's go."
"0 0 :0 0 :0 0"
"Continue driving at your current speed; you may proceed through the yellow light."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Hehe, so many people
So I quickly wrote a new chapter!
…
Kaito, who was acting suspiciously, noticed something amiss.
Let's welcome the god of survival rate to this event!
(Thunderous applause)
…
The purpose of this route is:
I'm sorry, I can't separate the twin stars of the Virginity Explosion Group!
…
I love everyone's comments (shyly) Happy
...
This story will be available for purchase starting here!
We appreciate your visit!
Finally, let me give a shout-out to my saplings that are yet to be planted:
[Marvel/DC Crossover] My Brother Was 1.37 Meters Tall That Year: Original No-CP Female Lead, Damian Clone from the Future, Brucey Baby, an Assassin-type Girl working for the Avengers.
[Detective] Watson is completely enraged: An adventure story featuring an AI-powered blue whale, Sherlock Holmes, and Watson (Inspiration: Oh my god, Watson is completely enraged)
【Ouran High School Host Club】This World Needs a Host Club: A future human heroine disguises herself as a man and becomes a melancholic male host to provide services online (CP x Kyoya Ootori)
If you enjoy playing a game as much as I do, then you might like this:
[Marvel/DC Crossover] Please accept my candle: It's already 170,000 words, and it's all free! I'm doing this out of love!
[Curse Return] I'll have my ancestors beat you up! (Little brainstorming idea!)
I hope to see all the cuties on the rest of the trip!
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