Chapter 20

There was no suspicious person wearing black clothes downstairs of the apartment where Xingchuan and Ming lived. However, Conan did not give up after confirming the situation. He immediately calmed down and began to observe the surrounding buildings and the location of the hidden alleys.

He was no longer the passionate young man who only enjoyed solving puzzles a year ago. Although he was still excited, he was no longer as careless and reckless as when he first came into contact with the Black Organization.

After many encounters with the organization and a series of events, Conan has learned to be cautious, so he chooses to scare the enemy away before completely catching up.

Of course, it would be much safer to lure someone over before committing suicide, right?

He made a phone call.

"Hello? Is this Mr. Akai? Do you have time now? I'm in the alley next to the tower apartment complex at 6-chome, Beika-cho. I just found a member of the Black Organization here and I'm tracking him now. But I'm not sure if he has any weapons. Could you please come over?"

While talking on the phone, Conan shuttled between the random debris and hidden alleys, and at the same time did not forget to analyze the possible path that the hooded man in black might choose.

On the other side of the phone, Shuichi Akai, who had just returned to Kudo's residence after finishing the information handover with his FBI colleagues, was slapped in the face by Conan Edogawa's usual suicidal behavior.

He listened to the whirring sound of the wind on the other end of the phone, his dark green eyes showing worry, but his voice remained steady when he spoke:

"Conan, don't act rashly. If the other party is really a member of the organization, it will be very dangerous for you to chase after him recklessly. Stay where you are and find a cover to hide your pursuit. I'll be there soon."

However, after receiving Akai Shuichi's assurance, Conan felt more at ease and became more courageous. He compared the height of the obstacles in the alley with his own height difference, and then said to Akai Shuichi with confidence:

"It's okay, Mr. Akai. The obstacles here are very convenient for a kid like me to hide. Besides, there's only one person on the other side, and I wasn't the target before. A kid like me who likes to play around will be considered to be playing around even if I appear in such a hidden alley, and the other side won't suspect that I'm being followed."

Akai Shuichi stopped him without hesitation, "I don't recommend you do this. The other party's identity and personality are unknown. Without knowing the other party's combat power, even if there is only one person, you may still be in danger if you blindly follow him."

However, Conan was not to be outdone and said confidently:

"But Mr. Akai, what we need most now is intelligence about the organization. And this person who just appeared has never appeared in this area before. He suddenly appeared at such a sensitive time, and he may have some important mission. I think this is a good opportunity for us."

Akai Shuichi on the opposite side was silent for a moment, and a look of deep thought flashed across his dark green eyes. In the end, he did not completely reject Conan's proposal.

The two have worked together many times, and he has long understood from his repeated amazement at what Conan has done that under Conan's seemingly immature appearance, there is a kind of wisdom that is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

So since Conan, who is at the scene, made such a judgment, I am willing to choose to believe him.

"Stay connected, I'll be there soon."

The sound of a car starting came from the other end of the phone.

Conan gave a confident smile, put away his phone, and ran a little faster.

The tower apartment that Hoshikawa and Akira rented was a low-cost apartment located in a remote area with old facilities. The distance between the buildings was very narrow, and some open spaces were piled with a lot of debris, resulting in many hidden alleys and blind spots in the community and the surrounding streets.

After a simple assessment of the terrain, Conan was able to successfully deduce the hooded man's route from the alley that was most concealed.

He had now come to a forked section of the alley, with a two-way corner at the end. Based on Conan's instant judgment, the man in black clothes and the hood might have just turned into the left fork.

However, Conan started to hesitate when he got here. This was because the fork on the left was obviously wider than the other sections, and there was a sign on the wall prohibiting the stacking of debris, so it was very likely that it was close to the neighboring road.

If I continue to chase them, the number of shelters on the road will inevitably decrease. Once they discover my whereabouts, it will be difficult to cover it up by saying that the children are playing here.

Because no child who is allowed to go out alone will run to play near the road. If so, there is a high possibility that my purpose will be exposed.

But Conan would be unwilling to give up here.

However, what Conan didn't know at this time was that at the other end of the fork in the road, the hooded man in black didn't realize that he was being followed by a child. But when Conan started to make the call, he seemed to suddenly sense something and suddenly became alert.

The man's muscles were tense and he was leaning slightly sideways, exuding a sharp and dangerous aura. At the same time, his eyes quickly scanned every hidden corner in the alley where monitors or micro-bombs might be installed, and a cold and sharp edge loomed in his dark red eyes.

At this moment, he was already in an extremely calm attacking state, and any sneak attacks from any tricky angles would be easily resolved.

However, in fact, he was not alert because he found that he was being followed, but was triggered by some special perception and was extremely sensitive to discover some abnormality in this space.

At this time, anyone who enters this alley, no matter who they are, will become his target of attack immediately.

Conan, who thought he had caught a big fish, was running towards the fork in the road with great excitement. He was about to reach the corner and appear at the entrance of the fork in the road.

The hooded man, who was already on guard, stopped just before leaving the fork in the alley, quietly waiting for the thing that suddenly made him feel something to reveal a flaw.

At this critical moment that determines life or death, it seems as if an invisible hand is controlling the trajectory of fate: in the last pile of debris at the fork in the road, a filthy animatronic doll suddenly starts to swing wildly. At the same time, the distorted doll speaker also plays intermittent music with heavy noise.

The sudden noise filled the entire alley.

Conan was already extremely excited and nervous, and was startled by the sudden sound of the electronic music. He froze in place as if he were under a spell, and cold sweat broke out from all his pores.

He held his breath and didn't dare to move a step, for fear that his movements would make some discordant sounds and attract the hooded man who might have been frightened here.

Conan was extremely upset at this time.

Damn it! I was just a little bit away from catching those shady guys once again.

How could it be so coincidental? Why did these broken toys not make any sound earlier or later, but just when they were about to succeed, they broke down?

After such a delay, the guy in the black hood will surely become more alert, and it will be impossible to continue following him. And seeing that he had obviously chosen the alley near the road, he will definitely leave by car next. Now, isn't it going to let the clues slip away in vain?

However, completely different from what Conan expected, after discovering that what aroused his alert was just an abandoned video toy, the hooded man's originally extremely vigilant movements obviously relaxed.

He first looked back in the direction of the video toy in a daze for a while, then he sighed imperceptibly, turned around and walked out of the alley.

Soon, the sound of cars starting up could be heard outside the alley, and soon merged into the traffic on the street.

After the sound of the toy rang, Conan's phone kept tapping the microphone. The tapping sound was barely audible, and only Conan, who kept pressing his finger on the receiver to prevent the sound from leaking out, could feel the slight vibration from the slight trembling of his fingertips.

It was Shuichi Akai who had been on the phone the entire time. When he realized something was wrong, he asked in Morse code.

After hearing the sound of a car leaving the alley, Conan wanted to run out to take a look, but he quickly calmed down at the sound of a knock on his cell phone.

After carefully retreating to hide behind a pile of debris, Conan made sure it was safe and then whispered to Akai Shuichi:

"Mr. Akai, I'm safe now. Something happened nearby just now, but the other party didn't notice me, so they should have left by now."

He paused for a moment, then added in a low voice:

"In the end, I still couldn't catch up with anyone."

"Don't be disappointed, little brother, you have done a good job. In this situation, ensuring your safety is the most important thing. Leave the rest to me. Now, stay where you are, I will be there soon."

Shuichi Akai always gives people a sense of security and reliability. Hearing his comfort, Conan cheered up.

He continued to sit in the corner as he was told, and began to sort out what had happened today.

"It's not a complete loss, at least this time we accidentally learned that Xingchuan and Ming were targeted by the Black Organization for unknown reasons. Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that he himself is a suspect."

Thinking of this, Conan scratched his hair irritably and couldn't help but complain in a low voice:

"This is really troublesome. Senior has such a gentle personality. He works part-time to go to school and also saves money to support the welfare home. How could such a person be related to those crows? I hope this is just a misunderstanding. Otherwise, his reasoning ability is so good. If he really becomes an enemy, he will definitely be a very scary enemy!"

Just when Conan was lost in thought, a pair of men's sports shoes suddenly appeared in front of him.

Conan was startled and his hair immediately stood on end.

However, before he could raise his head, he heard the sound of gnashing teeth above his head:

"Edogawa Conan! What the hell are you doing hiding here?"