Chapter 92 (Previously Chapter 91): The Hunter's Training: Your Forced Approach...
Do you know how the police remove enemy informants?
Use makeup remover.
Back in the day, when Zhuge Tongzhi first came across this joke online, he laughed so hard he was practically oblivious to the world.
At that very moment, as she stealthily made her way to the cabin while being pursued by two shotgunners, she racked her brains for a solution in front of a burly man with a gun guarding the door.
Zhuge Tongzhi finally became genuinely curious about how to remove the enemy's spies.
Do you use makeup remover?
She didn't bring makeup remover, which might be why they can't quickly overcome their predicament.
"I must bring makeup remover next time I go out." Zhuge Tongzhi thought deeply, quickly typing an alarm message on his phone, but stopped just as he was about to give Noah's Ark the command.
"Waypoint: Poacher's Hut (Completed)"
Leaning against the big tree next to the cabin, just before pressing the send button, she suddenly felt—the gatekeeper looked vaguely familiar.
He patted Yoshida Ayumi on the shoulder, signaling her to stay put. Fortunately, his battle-hardened companion was only frightened at first, and now she showed her superb escape skills, quickly nodding to Zhuge Tongzhi.
The black-haired girl peeked out furtively, holding two handfuls of grass, glanced at the man pacing in front of the door, and then shrank back inside.
Bald with a scar, bald with a scar, bald with a scar...
Sunlight filtering through the trees shone on his gleaming head. The intense reflection flashed through Zhuge Tongzhi's mind, and in that instant, he suddenly remembered a photograph he had seen in the village newspaper—
Next Route: Wilderness Survival (Incomplete)
—In a group photo of outstanding local hunters honored by the Chiba Prefectural Police, there is a bald hunter with an extremely reflective head.
Although the photo is a bit blurry, judging from the height and posture, the person standing next to the Chiba District Patrol Chief was this scarred-face man, and the two seemed to be having a pleasant conversation.
The blue and white navigation box popped up again in the void before them:
Next Route: Wilderness Survival (Incomplete)
Looking at the four simple and clear words, Zhuge Tongzhi calmly thought: Now I'm afraid I really will have to survive in the wilderness.
If the local police station and the poachers have a close relationship, then the decision to call the police directly needs careful consideration. The black-haired girl, listening to the circling footsteps behind her, wondered: Should she bypass the local police station and seek help from a higher authority?
Not good. Without a foundation of trust, they might be mistaken for children playing around. And unless evidence of collusion between the local police station and poachers is presented, the local police station will ultimately be the one to respond.
Zhuge Tongzhi shook his head and then began to think of a way to send Noah's Ark to intimidate the police.
"Hey, Zhuge-kun." Ayumi Yoshida suddenly leaned over, took out her detective badge, and the red indicator light requesting a call was flashing on and off. "It's Mitsuhiko and the others."
"Hey, when I called them just now, it seemed like no one answered." Zhuge Tongzhi was a little puzzled. Could it be because she had called too softly? She was afraid that there might be someone guarding the room where Ersha was locked up, so she didn't dare to speak loudly.
"I'm not quite sure either, so I used the new feature the doctor developed." Ayumi Yoshida scratched her head blankly and said in a breathy voice, "But, this electric shock feels pretty good."
"They've responded now."
So you were pressing the stun button the whole time you had your hand in your pocket? Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the cute little girl in front of him, his eyes filled with admiration mixed with a hint of fear.
Ayumi-chan, you actually have a bit of a naturally dark side, don't you?
Without delay, Zhuge Tongzhi took out his detective badge, turned on the call channel, and pressed it to his ear: "Moshi moshi, Mitsuhiko, Genta, are you guys alright? Why didn't anyone respond just now?"
“We’re fine. We were tied up and couldn’t free our hands.” The boys’ voices, turned down to the lowest volume, came from the other end of the badge. Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya quickly explained, “After Sueiro untied himself, he untied us too.”
Then, Genta Kojima snatched the channel, and the chubby boy complained, "This badge keeps leaking electricity, my legs are about to be electrocuted!"
"Genta, you idiot! That's because they were afraid you'd faint, that's why they shocked you!" Ayumi Yoshida snorted a few words in a very bossy tone, using cute words but revealing her domineering side.
"Alright, alright, this isn't the time to talk about this." Zhuge Tongzhi revealed his crescent-shaped eyes and called out, "Mitsuhiko, what's wrong with you guys? You should have noticed something was off when you saw the pangolin, right?"
Unlike Ayumi Yoshida and Genta Kojima, who viewed pangolins as small animals in need of rescue, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya also subtly mentioned the issue of poaching to Yu Ishikawa, and was even given a very serious lecture on the code of conduct for hunters by the hunter uncle.
This bright and knowledgeable elementary school student must have noticed the sensitivity of the pangolin, an endangered animal, appearing in a hunter's home. So why did he turn around and run straight into someone else's base camp?
But actually, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya himself was a bit confused. At that time, he, Genta Kojima, and Suero Ishikawa had dug up bamboo shoots until their baskets were full. Just as they were about to sit down and rest, they were shot in the bushes next to their feet.
The three terrified boys ran into a strange man carrying a pangolin who was walking leisurely from the other side of the woods. After Ishikawa Suerou mumbled "Big Brother," they breathed a sigh of relief.
Note: Only Genta Kojima breathed a sigh of relief.
Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya's heart tightened, and Sueiro Ishikawa's expression was complicated. The two children, who didn't hide their expressions, quickly revealed their thoughts to Taro Ishikawa.
"...Then, you guys who came after us stumbled upon the scene of the stolen goods being disposed of, and that's how it ended up like this." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya finished explaining the cause and effect with a sigh of resignation from the other end of the badge.
But the boy with the heart-shaped haircut quickly pulled himself out of his self-pity, carefully peered out the window, and sat back down to tell his friends what was happening.
"When Suiro's brothers tied us up just now, they said they were going to move all the stuff away tonight, and that if we behaved, they would let us go." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya leaned against the wooden wall and looked up at the few small hills piled up in the shadows in front of him.
Inside, the brownish-yellow, spear-like pieces broken at the root were ivory; the grayish-black, horn-shaped pieces, some of which were just a truncated cone, were rhinoceros horns; and the grayish-brown armor plates were piled up haphazardly, their surface smooth like familiar pebbles.
But touching it only made you feel so cold that you couldn't help but shiver.
These blood-stained items once belonged to creatures that roamed the grasslands. Although pangolins can be found in Chiba Prefecture, they do not produce these.
Therefore, they were forced to break into not only a poacher's hut, but also a transit point for smuggling.
With his hands, marked by red welts from the needle, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya gripped the detective badge tightly, took a deep breath, and whispered to Toshiyuki Zhuge, "But our Junior Detective League cannot stand idly by!"
“Yes!” Genta Kojima echoed loudly from the side, but Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya covered his mouth to signal him to be quiet, so he lowered his voice and said, “They are breaking the law.”
"And they also hunt protected animals to sell for money." Yoshida Ayumi listened intently to Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko's description of the scene inside the house, clenching her fists. "This is wrong! We must stop them!"
Hearing the rapidly rising morale on the other side, Zhuge Tongzhi felt that he was indeed an old man in his twenties. Now he could only worry about the hunting rifle in the other side's hand, and questioned whether the so-called "letting you go" was actually a synonym for "killing the hostages".
The reason we haven't taken action against Ersha yet is simply because we haven't caught her and Yoshida Ayumi.
After all, even criminals have their goals. It's too difficult to explain why someone might die here and someone else might die there, and accidental crime scenes are hard to fake. Friends who frequently commit murder should know that this requires a great deal of skill, technique, and experience.
Therefore, the most important thing for a family is to be together.
"Don't be so confident. We are truly unarmed right now." The black-haired girl suddenly poured cold water on the children, saying rationally, "Don't make any rash moves now. Stay in touch and wait for rescue."
"That uncle outside seems to be in contact with the patrol officers. I just overheard him making a phone call to his contact," Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya warned, then emphasized after Suero Ishikawa whispered a few words to him, "Don't call the police."
“I know, I’m looking for other people.” Zhuge Tongzhi replied simply as he typed, then handed the task of making the contact to Yoshida Ayumi, and began to communicate silently with Noah’s Ark on his phone.
Noah's Ark, which had been following Zhuge Tongzhi around the clock, didn't need to ask any questions. It quickly compiled a long list of personnel and marked the current whereabouts of each person.
Conan, or rather, the arrogant high school detective Shinichi Kudo, who is currently taking a dump, is having a long-awaited date with his childhood friend Ran Mouri and is secretly preparing to confess his feelings.
Busy with his own romance, he can't help much, so he'll pass on Ran Mouri.
Uncle Kogoro Mouri is still hungover.
Pass directly.
Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda are overwhelmed by a series of eight egg-related accidents caused by the Grim Reaper's trip to the toilet. Similarly, Wataru Date, who just kicked his lunchbox, is also too busy to propose.
The reliable police officers are unavailable, so that's a no-go.
Morofushi Kagemitsu, along with Furuya Rei and Akai Shuichi, are having a rather unpleasant chemistry... Is this the advantage of having many names? It seems like two people are arguing, but actually, it's six people arguing.
Hmm... Zhuge Tongzhi pondered for a while, and finally chose to ask Noah's Ark to inform Morofushi Kagemitsu of the current trouble, and to ask the Tokyo First Investigation Division for help using the same method as in the Ferris wheel bombing case.
If these poachers plan to make the deal tonight, they will most likely do so under the cover of darkness. Tokyo and Chiba are adjacent, so the journey there will take enough time.
It would be unwise to rashly clash with an opponent whose strength is far inferior to hers. Zhuge Tongzhi breathed a sigh of relief. Besides, apart from her, they were all genuine children. It would be better to wait and see for the time being.
A rustling sound came from the bushes behind them. The two girls, huddled under cover, held their breath and listened to Ishikawa Taro and Jiro talking.
“The kids haven’t gone back, and the old man is getting suspicious,” said Ishikawa Taro, whose voice was a bit hoarse. The beeping of his keyboard echoed through the woods. “He told us to search in the mountains, and I managed to fool him.”
"Tsk, why today of all days?" The thin Ishikawa Jiro's voice was more delicate, but he turned his head, spat, and coughed. He had already finished a whole pack of cigarettes while searching for someone in the woods, making him a true chain smoker.
This means that Uncle Ishikawa was unaware of the poaching. Zhuge Tongzhi, who had been somewhat unsure of Ishikawa's attitude, suddenly brightened up and began secretly preparing to tattle.
“Yes, and Sueiro happened to come along too…” Ishikawa Taro had just sighed when his phone rang. “It’s the old man, I’ll go answer it.”
Zhuge Tongzhi watched through the gaps in the leaves as the slightly hunched man turned and walked into the woods. Meanwhile, Ishikawa Jiro, who had lit a cigarette, walked up to the cabin and started chatting with the bald, scarred man. The two of them puffing away quickly filled the area with the smell of secondhand smoke.
"What happened?" The bald, scarred man tilted his head toward the direction Ishikawa Taro had left, his words muffled by the cigarette dangling from his lips. "A call from the hospital? Or have you found another big client?"
"No, our business is all thanks to you, brother. We don't have any other clients," Ishikawa Jiro said flatteringly, explaining, "These kids are my old man's guests. He's looking for them right now. Taro, go and deal with him."
"Oh, you guys don't really intend to let these brats go back, do you?" The bald, scarred man blew smoke into Ishikawa Jiro's face and laughed. "Your older brother urgently needs money to treat his family's illness, how could he possibly sell everything and leave tonight?"
“And you, Jiro, are a smart man, but your smoking and gambling addictions are deadly.” The burly man patted Ishikawa Jiro’s slightly stiff face and lowered his voice, “But this business makes money quickly.”
“As long as we can keep doing this, we’ll split it 50/50, and you can buy whatever you want.” The bald, scarred man took a deep drag on his cigarette. “Your brother is too indecisive; he can’t let any of these kids live.”
Zhuge Tongzhi, who was eavesdropping nearby, said: "What are you saying? Speak louder so I can hear you!"
"Jiro, you should make your own decision." The bald, scarred man raised his voice, stretched out his arms, and roared at the quiet mountains, "I'm not willing to abandon the mountains that raised me!"
Jiro Ishikawa's eyes flickered.
Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, who had been pressed against the door and overheard the entire conversation, gasped and silently picked up his detective badge, saying, "This is bad, they're going to kill the hostage."
Despite his preconceived notion that the hostages would be killed, Zhuge Tongzhi remained calm and reassured them using his badge intercom: "Don't panic, they're arresting us right now."
Scarface and Ishikawa Jiro whispered a few more words to each other. After a while, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko reported in his detective badge: "However, they don't plan to wait until they've caught everyone before killing them all."
What's going on? Don't kidnappers have any sense of justice these days? Zhuge Tongzhi angrily grabbed a handful of weeds on the ground, and after hesitating several times, he still reached into his pocket and grasped the medicine box.
She really didn't want to experience that heart-wrenching, near-death feeling again unless absolutely necessary. The black-haired girl recalled it briefly and then involuntarily shuddered.
"They're going to lure Ishikawa Taro to the cabin, then work together to kill him," Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya relayed the words of the two men outside, clutching his badge and pressing his face against the door. "Then they'll kill us and make it look like Ishikawa Taro accidentally killed someone and then committed suicide."
"What a ridiculous frame-up," Zhuge Tongzhi said slowly, tiptoeing back to Yoshida Ayumi who was still standing there, and took off a miniature earphone and put it into the girl's ear.
"Ayumi, follow the commander down the mountain to find Professor Agasa and Uncle Ishikawa." The black-haired girl tapped Ayumi Yoshida's ear and said, "Listen to the instructions, don't look back, the task of fetching reinforcements is yours."
With Noah's Ark there, Ayumi Yoshida wouldn't be caught between a rock and a hard place, but she needed to safely divert people away.
As Zhuge Tongzhi moved, the sound effects of Noah's Ark played synchronously in the headphones.
The black-haired girl raised her hand and made a shushing gesture to her friends who wanted to ask questions, and interrupted Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, who was solemnly giving his will over the badge, "Alright, you guys, you don't need to pretend to be so strong anymore."
Watching Yoshida Ayumi bow and run down the mountain under the guidance of Noah's Ark, Zhuge Tongzhi loosened his collar and smoothly unzipped his coat.
She opened the medicine box, pinched out a blue and white capsule, and without hesitation, popped it into her mouth.
Simultaneously pressing the timer button on his phone, Zhuge Tongzhi coughed as he forced the capsule down his throat and raised his detective badge to his lips.
"Because your strength has arrived."
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Author's Note: Your strong one has arrived (dog head with rose in hand)
The whole thing collapsed (not really)
…
Mwah!
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