Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

2:20 PM, somewhere in Shibuya.

In the basement of a building, Rei Furuya held a microphone in one hand, while outside the glass wall, Yuya Kazami held his boss's cell phone in one hand and a microphone in the other, the phone and microphone very close together.

At this moment, Rei Furuya is using this method to communicate with the outside world.

"..."

After spending a few minutes learning from Morofushi Hiromitsu about what happened at the Metropolitan Police Department that day, Furuya Rei closed his eyes after hearing that two locations had been discovered, that the so-called live broadcast was actually a pre-recorded broadcast, and that one of the two kidnapped people was dead and the other hospitalized.

He never expected that such a big thing would happen outside while he was locked up for only a few hours.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had completely regained its composure: "I understand, I will report to my superiors. Hiro, how are you feeling?"

"...I'm fine."

After being relayed through both the cell phone and the microphone, Morofushi Kagemitsu's voice became somewhat muffled.

"I went in wearing the highest level of protective gear, and the radiation level in that room wasn't seriously excessive. After Pigeon (the hoodlum's last name) was moved out, the level returned to the level they had last tested."

Rei Furuya understood his unspoken question: "So there was no reaction there?"

"No, there was no solution, uranium powder or other radioactive metals there, and the tools used were all left over from the accident years ago, with no signs of recent use. The actual incident did not occur there."

Morobuchi Kagemitsu paused here, then added, "As for the alarm equipment, after inspection by the management, it was determined that it was deliberately set off."

Rei Furuya was taken aback: "You mean—"

“There were people inside before we went in, and it’s possible that this was the person who sent Pigeon Field in,” said Morofushi Kagemitsu, his tone tinged with regret. “Unfortunately, we discovered it too late and couldn’t stop them in time.”

"If that person brought them in, why would they sound the alarm to warn you?" Furuya Rei asked, puzzled.

"I don't know," Morofushi Kagemitsu said calmly. "Perhaps it's to lure us into finding the 'surprise' sooner. Anise is capable of such a thing."

Rei Furuya frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the somewhat emotional response.

However, before he could ask any more questions, Morofushi Kagemitsu casually turned the topic back to him.

"And what about you?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked in a gentler tone. "I just heard from Kazami that you encountered some trouble this morning. How are you now? Are you alright?"

"..."

Rei Furuya glanced at Yuya Kazami, whose expression had drastically changed outside the glass wall, and silently made a mental note of it. With the still-undisarmed collar bomb still attached, he mumbled, "It's not a big problem, it's almost resolved. The FBI was a huge help this time..."

Matsuda sent a message a dozen minutes ago saying that the neutralizing agent had been produced, which is not a lie.

When Morofushi Kagemitsu heard that Furuya Rei did not provide a detailed explanation and even mentioned the FBI, he guessed that it might involve some kind of classified American mission, so he did not ask any further questions.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries and repeatedly reminding each other to be careful, they hung up the phone.

After the call ended, Kazami Yuya held his phone, its screen now dark. He looked at Furuya Rei, who was sitting silently in place, and hesitantly raised the receiver.

"Mr. Fangtani?"

Rei Furuya didn't put the microphone back immediately. Hearing his subordinate's voice, he looked up again: "What's wrong?"

"I just overheard your conversation..." Kazami Yuya looked embarrassed. Although the Public Security Bureau was skilled at eavesdropping, he definitely didn't do it on purpose this time. "Has the Metropolitan Police Department already sent Mr. Pigeonda to the hospital?"

What he said was utter nonsense. When Furuya Rei was talking to Morofushi Kagemitsu just now, he even subtly mentioned the real reason why Kadoya kidnapped Eto, which naturally revealed the whereabouts of this survivor.

However, Rei Furuya, his superior and accustomed to his style, understood his true meaning.

“…Kazami.” Furuya Rei sighed almost imperceptibly. “You mean, since there’s a victim still alive, can we ask him for information about the kidnappers?”

Kazami Yuya nodded hurriedly: "Yes, that's exactly what I meant."

However, Rei Furuya's next words nailed him to the spot:

"Impossible. Even if he were still alive, and could remain conscious for dozens or even hundreds of days, it would be very difficult to get anything out of him."

Upon learning the news from the Metropolitan Police Department, Rei Furuya's mood, which had eased slightly due to his creation of a bomb neutralizer, sank to rock bottom once again.

He looked at his bewildered subordinates outside and sighed inwardly, "Kaze, didn't you see how those two most severely radiation-affected people in Tokai Village died back then?"

Kazami Yuya seemed to remember something, and his expression turned ugly: "I've only read about Ouchi Hisashi..."

Hisashi Ouchi. In that accident, he was the person closest to the radiation source and received the most radiation.

The extremely high dose of radiation completely destroyed his chromosomes, and his cell regeneration ability was almost completely destroyed. Within just one week, his white blood cell count dropped to one-tenth of that of an average person.

The doctors at the time transplanted his sister's white blood cells into him, but these foreign cells also died off in large numbers very quickly.

Because he was exposed to high-intensity radiation, he himself became a radioactive source, and any substance that came into direct contact with him would also be affected by the radiation.

His skin had peeled off in large areas, and when the gauze was changed, the underlying skin would stick together and be peeled off. But to prevent fluid seepage, new gauze had to be constantly applied.

His lungs began to fill with fluid, and he needed a ventilator to survive.

His intestines were also severely damaged, with the intestinal mucosa constantly sloughing off, causing severe diarrhea and bleeding. To keep him alive, he sometimes needed to receive more than ten blood transfusions in half a day.

Due to massive daily bleeding and blood transfusions, his heart was beating extremely fast. After more than fifty days of this treatment, his heart suddenly stopped beating one day.

Then, the medical team that was in charge of him worked hard to save him.

Extend life.

Extend life.

They tried their best and used every possible means to prolong his life.

Even if the patient begged the doctor to let him die, they insisted on keeping him alive.

—After all, this is a rare case of someone who has suffered severe nuclear radiation, a one-in-a-million occurrence, perhaps only seen once every few decades. How could they let him die so easily?

Although from a personal perspective, such behavior is extremely cruel, forcing a person to watch themselves turn into a pile of rotten flesh;
However, from the perspective of all humanity, this is invaluable pathological data and treatment experience, which is of great significance to future scientific medicine.

...However, since Mr. Morofushi said that Tokai Village was not the actual site of the nuclear reaction, where exactly did Pigeonda suffer severe nuclear radiation?

"..."

Kazami Yuya lowered his head in thought and stopped speaking.

But then Rei Furuya seemed to remember something and asked, "Any news about Pramia and the 'Nadaunichtokitti' team?"

Kazami Yuya snapped out of his daze and quickly replied, "I'm sorry, Mr. Furuya, we've tried our best to find them, but there's a large international event in Shibuya today, so the crowds are bigger than usual, and there are a lot of foreigners on the streets. We still don't have any news."

"..."

Rei Furuya couldn't help but press the bridge of his nose: "Okay, I understand. Continue the investigation."

He put the microphone back in its place, and silence returned behind the glass wall.

Rei Furuya leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes briefly again.

Although only a few hours have passed since this morning, he feels as if he hasn't slept for days and nights, and is extremely exhausted both physically and mentally.

Besides exhaustion, there was also a sense of powerlessness.

Hiro's group was provoked by the organization, whose members went so far as to kidnap and murder a police officer, and then use a pre-recorded video to taunt them; in Shibuya, there's the dangerous Pramie and a foreign gang, likely there for revenge, who are armed with a large number of weapons, and Kazami and his group have been unable to track them down...

He himself was burdened with a bomb, and no matter how worried he was about the situation on both sides, he couldn't help at all.

Rei Furuya slowly exhaled.

The current situation is almost identical to what he experienced three years ago when he was stranded alone in Moscow, forced to watch helplessly as various major events unfolded in Japan…

As this thought flashed through Rei Furuya's mind, he suddenly noticed something. He abruptly opened his eyes, sat up straight, and looked in a certain direction.

Kazami Yuya was startled and looked in that direction.

A dark figure appeared out of nowhere. Perhaps realizing they had spotted him, he emerged from the shadows behind a pillar and began to approach the light source.

As he walked, the sound of animal wings flapping echoed in the silent basement.

Rei Furuya was initially on guard—this was a secret underground bunker of the Public Security Bureau, and no outsiders would ever come in—but as the other person approached, he saw his face clearly, and his guard instantly turned into astonishment.

"Ray?!"

Shuichi Akai inexplicably appeared here. (End of Chapter)