Chapter 22 (Previous Chapter 21): The Countdown to Reboot: The Tower Brand...
Tower Brand:
Dramatic changes in fate propel us forward.
We stumbled and missed a step.
A young elementary school student with a childlike face and a stubble-faced cleaning worker stood facing each other. Although they were theoretically strangers, they created a subtle sense of confrontation.
In the void, O-D navigation marked a bright red dot on the head of the seemingly ordinary cleaner in front of it, and it blinked and jumped.
"Please be aware of pedestrians: Phantom Thief Kid (Kaito Kuroba)"
Although I really wanted to ask why there was only one pedestrian passing by, but...
Well done! O De!
Zhuge Tongzhi shifted his gaze from the red dot on the cleaner's head, glanced at the blue and white sign next to it, and his mind raced.
What a coincidence, is Phantom Thief Kid scouting the 25th floor? She reached out and touched the Phantom Thief's equipment strapped to her waist, recalling the navigation changes when she arrived at this floor.
Ode had only given her a route to the 25th floor, but after she stepped out of the elevator, he added a new waypoint called "The Phantom Thief's Gift," which led directly to the backup plan that Kid had left for himself.
But O only told himself to be careful of this phantom thief; the rest of the journey was none of his concern. Zhuge Tongzhi, who had followed the Detective Conan and Magic Kaito crossover, naturally knew that the man in front of him was nothing more than an underage high school boy.
He's still just a child.
Let's not drag him into something so dangerous. Zhuge Tongzhi barely suppressed the urge to drag the god of survival into the rankings, comforting himself that since the other party was here, they had already benefited from the buff of everyone surviving.
The blue and white arrow extended forward from behind, then turned less than fifty meters ahead, marking a bouncing blue dot. If I'm not mistaken, that's where the eight eggs are.
The girl ignored Kaito Kid and instead took out a hair tie from her wrist and tied it into a bun on her forehead, indicating that she had entered battle mode.
"Let's go! If we get there before Kenji Hagiwara, we might still have a chance to check the bomb." Zhuge Tongzhi thought of the X-ray vision mode that O had used to guide her in defusing the bomb last time, and lifted her foot to continue running in the direction indicated by the navigation.
Zhuge Tongzhi gave up her idea of recruiting others, but Kuroba Kaito did not give up his well-intentioned advice.
The moment the girl turned away, a hand swiftly grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from leaving. A deep, slightly husky voice rang out from behind her: "Little sister, it's dangerous there. Go downstairs right away."
"Eh...!"
Hey, I've decided to enjoy it all by myself, so don't stop her anymore.
Unexpectedly, even with the police arriving, the child still didn't hurry up and leave. He was forcibly restrained. Zhuge Tongzhi opened his eyes wide and had no choice but to turn around to meet Kuroba Kaito's serious expression.
The other person, like an ordinary, well-meaning uncle who had just received a notification, grabbed her shoulder and tried to lead her towards the entrance of the fire escape.
Given the overwhelming difference in strength, Zhuge Tongzhi, who had been pushed two steps, quietly raised his hand, preparing to numb the tendons in her arm when she wasn't looking, and then turn and run away.
Just then, several heavy footsteps came from the opposite side, and a few words of conversation followed the curved stairwell, reaching the ears of Phantom Thief Kid and Zhuge Tongzhi, who were walking in that direction.
"Report! Officer Hagiwara, Officer Matsuda has completed his bomb disposal mission and is on his way." A male voice rang out, his tone carrying a mixture of surprise and certainty.
"As expected of Jinpei," another cheerful voice rang out, praising his childhood friend without hesitation, before energetically encouraging his teammates, "Let's do our best, everyone!"
A corner of a black bomb suit appeared at the edge of the corner, and the officers' voices of agreement grew closer as they quickly inspected the layout of the building.
It's Kenji Hagiwara and the others. How did they get here so quickly?
"KID, come here!"
Zhuge Tongzhi reacted quickly, grabbing the wrist of Phantom Thief Kid and pulling the boy, who was also stunned by the arrival, into the nearby workshop where various odds and ends were stored. He only opened the door a crack and quietly watched the situation outside.
There might still be some sparring with Kaito Kid, but if Kenji Hagiwara finds out that he's still stuck on the 25th floor, given his sense of responsibility, he'll definitely choose to have someone watch him leave and evacuate.
"We absolutely cannot be discovered," Zhuge Tongzhi thought to himself, when he saw Hagiwara Kenji's blue uniform flash past conspicuously through the crack in the door, amidst a group of people in black bomb suits.
This guy definitely didn't wear his bomb suit properly.
Zhuge Tongzhi narrowed her eyes slightly and felt her tuft of hair on the top of her head being gently pressed down. A shadow loomed over her from behind, and a hoarse voice sounded softly from above: "Little sister, why are you hiding?"
And, was she just calling herself 'KID'?
Disguised as an older man, Kaito Kuroba pressed down on the child's craning head. His excellent voice imitation skills allowed him to mimic the voice he wanted without a voice changer. He said in a mysterious tone, "There are police outside."
With a snap, the girl in front of her slapped away his hand that was pressing down on her hair. She pushed the door open a little wider and carefully looked at the search situation of Kenji Hagiwara and the others, while retorting to Kaito Kuroba, who was trying to scare a child but was actually just a fake child.
“Yes, Mr. Phantom Thief, there are police right outside.” Zhuge Tongzhi confirmed that Hagiwara Kenji had found the location of the bomb. He turned his head slightly to look at the culprit who had prevented him from finding the bomb first. His soft, high-pitched childlike voice came out.
"You're right, aren't you, Kaito Kuroba?"
The tool shed was pitch black, with only a pale light shining through the crack in the door, illuminating half of the girl's face as she turned slightly to the side. The other half of her face was shrouded in shadow, and her pair of clear black and white eyes lost their luster in their deep sockets, staring straight at Kaito Kuroba.
Mr. Phantom Thief felt goosebumps rise on his back. The shock of having his name called out, mixed with the fear brought by this girl who seemed so strangely fake at the moment, made him involuntarily take a step back.
But Zhuge Tongzhi took the initiative and grabbed his wrist, stopping the phantom thief from retreating. A bright smile appeared on his innocent face, and his voice suddenly became sweet and lively.
"Hey, now that you're here, don't let me leave empty-handed."
You're the kind of brat who insisted on walking into my hands.
The girl with black hair and black eyes looked at the cleaning man in front of her with a terrified expression and said sweetly, "Hand over your equipment, or I'll call the police outside to come in and arrest you."
“I know who you are, KID.” Zhuge Tongzhi glanced at the navigation prompts that were updating in real time in the void, his expression turning cold and stern as he released his hand. His dark eyes looked at Kuroba Kaito, who was wiping his sweat. “There’s an old saying: You can run away from the monk, but you can’t hide from the temple.”
"Just hand over your equipment, and I'll let you go as if nothing happened."
Well, does this classic line count as blatant robbery?
Kaito Kid weakly raised his hands, and in his mind appeared a chibi version of the phantom thief frantically launching playing cards in all directions. The scattering cards flew into the air and formed a line of words, silently expressing his innermost thoughts:
The people of Beika Town! They are truly terrifying!
However, the phantom thief, whose identity had been exposed, neither fled nor obediently handed over all his equipment as Zhuge Tongzhi had instructed.
The magician, who had maintained a poker face, lowered his raised hand, crossed his arms, and seemingly conjured a pure white rose with dewdrops out of thin air. He then knelt down and handed it to the tense girl.
Amidst the delicate fragrance of roses, the disguised Phantom Thief Kid tore off his mask, revealing a youthful yet handsome face. With a smile on his face and an elegant tone, he said, "Alright, Miss who has seen through the truth, please allow me to beg for mercy in a different way."
The phantom thief, who shared a face with Shinichi Kudo, looked the girl in the eye, tilted his head, and asked earnestly, "Do you need help, miss?"
The exact same question Conan asked her before they set off...
Zhuge Tongzhi closed his eyes tightly, reached out and took the rose. The dew on the petals dripped onto the ground as he tilted, piercing through the shimmering blue and white arrows and hitting the tiled floor, splashing out a small, blooming water droplet.
A phone rang outside the door, and it was quickly answered. A man's cheerful voice drifted into her ears through the crack in the door.
In the void, O's progress value after the waypoint slowly changed, and a warning message marked in red appeared.
"Pathway: Eight Eggs Hidden in Secrets (80%)"
"Please note, you are about to miss your current waypoint!"
There's no time left!
Zhuge Tongzhi opened his eyes, tossed aside the roses that were only in the way, reached out and pressed down on the other person's baseball cap to prevent anyone from seeing his face, then pulled Kuroba Kaito, who had gotten up, and quickly walked out of the tool shed along the wall.
The girl with a small tuft of hair pushed the boy, who was looking back at her with a puzzled expression, toward the fire escape, and said quickly, "If you have anything that can block signals, give it to me. If not, get out of here right now."
She, Zhuge Liang, doesn't need others to risk their lives for her own goals, which is why she refused Conan's help.
This also applies to Phantom Thief Kid.
"Eh? I..." Kuroba Kaito was about to ask again, but Zhuge Tongzhi urged him fiercely, so he stopped talking, took out a plain white cube and handed it to her, briefly showed her the switch button on the side of the cube, and then turned and walked into the fire escape.
Behind him, the girl's footsteps quickly faded into the distance. Kaito Kuroba lowered his head and pulled his baseball cap down. Instead of heading downstairs, he rushed up the three steps at a time to the top floor—as far as he knew, the open-air rooftop of the Seikawa Tower was open year-round.
Although it's not entirely clear what's going to happen, the sky is the magic stage for phantom thieves!
Kaito Kuroba inserted the lock-picking tool into the keyhole of the tightly closed door, his blue eyes gleaming brightly beneath his baseball cap.
Ladies and gentlemen, It's show time.
…
Faced with a paused countdown bomb.
Kenji Hagiwara moved the phone slightly away from his ear, because his childhood friend's angry voice came out and echoed throughout the hallway centered on him.
"Not wearing a bomb suit? You bastard! Do you want to die?!"
Around Kenji Hagiwara, the team members, dressed in neat riot gear but who had tolerated their captain's lack of discipline, exchanged glances, thinking to themselves that they were in for trouble when they got back.
However, Kenji Hagiwara gestured to them not to worry, then put the phone back to his ear. Facing his angry childhood friend, he was in the mood for a joke. The police officer, who was waiting for everyone in the building to evacuate, said in a lazy voice:
"If I die, you must avenge me."
"I'm angry." Standing below the building, Matsuda Jinpei put on sunglasses and looked up at the super high-rise building with more than 30 floors. Under the scorching sun, he looked down at the 25th floor, which he had counted down from floor to floor. The sunlight reflected off the glass exterior of the building, creating a dazzling effect.
"I was just joking with you, how could I possibly make such a mistake?"
Matsuda Jinpei felt that his fists were not enough to be soothed by such perfunctory "next time, for sure" remarks. He snorted coldly, but did not distract his childhood friend who was still working. He just looked up at the bright reflection on the 25th floor.
"Anyway, hurry up and finish dismantling it. I'll wait for you at the usual spot."
The police officer beside him gestured that all members inside the building had been evacuated. Kenji Hagiwara nodded to indicate that he understood, and began to organize his tools while listening to the threatening tone of Jinpei Matsuda on the phone.
He couldn't help but laugh, soothing his childhood friend who was unusually agitated today: "Yay, with such a charming temptation like you, all my energy is mobilized."
The officer with medium-length hair looked at the dark screen and was about to hang up the phone to deal with the rest when the screen suddenly flashed white twice. His deep purple eyes narrowed sharply, and the words he was about to say were abruptly cut off before he could finish them.
"What?" he murmured.
"What's wrong?" Matsuda Jinpei frowned and asked urgently, "What did you say? Hagi?"
The bright red countdown suddenly reappeared on the screen, and it seemed to start ticking very slowly.
0 0 :0 6
What? Kenji Hagiwara's heart suddenly felt gripped by an extremely ominous premonition, and he felt his breathing become difficult for a moment, but the well-mannered police officer remained calm and thought things through.
He has already removed the information communication module. If it were a one-way timing system, it would be impossible for the timing to suddenly restart, and besides, the time that just stopped would not have been only 6 seconds.
0 0 : 0 5
—Someone remotely restarted the bomb, maintaining a signal connection with another system hidden within it. He overlooked some devices hidden inside!
But it was too late. Ignoring his childhood friend's urgent voice on his phone, Kenji Hagiwara stood up and shouted to his team members who were some distance away, "Attention! Everyone, run!"
He didn't have time to explain why; he simply waved his arm and shouted sharply, "Run!"
"The countdown has started again!"
The team members quickly took off as soon as he shouted the first time, running as fast as they could away from the bomb. However, Kenji Hagiwara, because he was reminding his teammates, was a step slower and ran away from the position closest to the bomb.
0 0 :0 4
Too late! Kenji Hagiwara gritted his teeth and ran as fast as he could. His heart pounded like a drum, but a calm voice sadly pronounced: It's too late, Kenji Hagiwara. You have less than 5 seconds left.
Yes, it seems he can't escape death. In a daze, Kenji Hagiwara seems to hear Jinpei Matsuda shouting something from the phone he left behind. He vaguely heard the word "hagi".
But soon the voice turned into a busy tone filled with static, leaving him unsure whether it was a hallucination or reality. The voice in his mind continued to repeat the death he was about to face.
Ah... if that's the case, then he shouldn't have made that joke. A sentence suddenly flashed through Kenji Hagiwara's blank mind, filled with the sound of his heartbeat, and deep regret filled the blank background under the crisis.
Am I going to break my promise? We clearly agreed to have a big meal tonight...
0 0 :0 3
"Hey! Kid! The bomb's going to explode!" An urgent voice came from the team members fleeing in front of him. Before Kenji Hagiwara could look up and see what was happening, he felt two things, one black and one white, fly past his head.
Then, something cold and thin suddenly wrapped around his waist, looping around several times before making a crisp metallic clicking sound, then tightening abruptly and pulling him diagonally forward with tremendous force.
The police officer, who was already keeping his upper body low, was pulled by this force, and with each step he took, it seemed as if he was about to fly. He was pulled by the hook rope tied around his waist and crashed straight into the semi-arched glass that had been opened in front of him.
0 0 : 0 2
They rushed to pry open the usually locked window, and Zhuge Tongzhi immediately crouched on the edge between the glass and the high sky, gripped the gun with both hands, and fired the grappling hook from the playing card gun at Hagiwara Kenji.
The girl's stray hairs were tied up beforehand, and her clear, undisturbed vision reflected the moment when the grappling hook perfectly entangled the target.
Before she could adjust her posture, she grabbed a section of the grappling hook of the retracting poker gun with her right hand, quickly wrapped it around her waist and left arm several times, and then powerfully kicked her legs off the edge of the glass, pulling herself up with the grappling hook to leap into the air a hundred meters into the sky.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of clothing disappearing at the edge of the glass. At the same moment, Kenji Hagiwara felt the force on his waist suddenly become heavier, pulling him even faster toward the glass window.
0 0 : 0 1
But there wasn't enough time. Zhuge Tongzhi, who plunged into the high-altitude gale and used his own weight to further increase the force of the grappling hook, gritted his teeth and looked at the O-D navigation prompts falling with him.
The prompt box, constantly changing between blue and red, flickered like a poor signal, its borders seemingly about to be torn into tiny data points by a gale, yet it still objectively informed her of the path's progress.
"Waypoint: Eight Eggs Hidden in Secrets (Completed)"
"Distance from bomb explosion: 0 0 0 1"
Kenji Hagiwara was more than a meter away from the window.
0 0 : 0 0
...
0 0 : 0 1
The plain white shield that had been thrown next to the countdown timer lit up with a green light, its surface reflecting the sunlight from the window, making the phantom thief logo on it invisible.
But everyone knows that it's a magician's hat with an incredible smirk.
Kenji Hagiwara was pulled out of the open window by the grappling hook. The moment his vision was filled with the unusually bright sunlight of the day, the flames behind him, carrying a wave of heat, engulfed him and the girl who was falling backward a meter away in less than half a second.
0 0 : 0 0
Thanks to the signal jammer, the bomb exploded one second later.
A burst of flames, almost obscuring the blazing sun, suddenly erupted from the 25th floor. Thick black smoke, like a mushroom cloud, poured out from one side of the floor, which appeared unusually flat when viewed from below, instantly eliciting screams from the crowd gathered below.
But Matsuda Jinpei heard nothing; all he heard was a sharp, ancient buzzing sound.
hagi……?
The police officer, who was still holding his phone to his ear, looked up and, through his sunglasses, saw the world's darkest fireworks blooming before his eyes.
...You must be joking.
-----------------------
Author's note: Today, the Tower brand is putting on a strong performance!
The stacked survival rate buff provides stable performance.
…
Hehe, I received a lot of encouragement from everyone!
So today's post is a short one (making a heart shape with his hands).
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