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

Rei Furuya scrambled over the ruins and scanned his surroundings as quickly as possible.

This area was originally a luggage storage area, storing various medium to large-sized bags that were inconvenient to carry into the venue. The explosion happened nearby, and most of the luggage, along with its racks, was destroyed. The hotel will likely have to pay a substantial amount in compensation.

Rei Furuya glanced around quickly, but there were no fallen people or suspicious items hidden in the corners. He turned to look at the large hole leading to the road outside and ran towards it.

A large crowd had also gathered outside. Some people had happened to be walking by when the explosion occurred and were accidentally thrown into the air by the blast wave, lying on the ground groaning. In addition, many onlookers pointed at the cave entrance and discussed it quietly.

Upon seeing Rei Furuya run out, the crowd at the front gasped in surprise, only to have him right in front of him the next second.

Has anyone escaped from here?

The blond policeman questioned him aggressively, and the man stammered, pointing to the other end of the street: "After...after coming out, he went that way..."

Rei Furuya said "thank you" and hurried off.

However, he had already given up much hope of catching the person on the spot.

Sure enough, after passing through the crowd and arriving at an intersection, he only saw a dense flow of people moving about in response to the traffic lights, and he couldn't find the other person at all.

"..."

Rei Furuya slowly clenched his fist, and at the same time, his phone buzzed.

It was sent by his subordinate, Yuya Kazami, whom he had left at the scene. Of course, the Public Security Bureau wasn't monitoring and protecting just one person; Yuya Kazami had been following behind in his car the whole time. Before leaving the hotel, Rei Furuya sent him an email, instructing him to go to the monitoring room immediately.

The reply at this time includes a screenshot temporarily retrieved from the surveillance footage.

It was a corridor outside the venue. Tickets were being checked at the entrance, but there weren't many people in line, indicating that the exhibition had clearly been going on for some time. Someone was standing not far away, looking in that direction.

The person was facing the surveillance camera from the side, so their face was not clearly visible; only their clothing could be identified.

It was all black, from head to toe, like a raven. The only highlight was the necklace around her neck.

Sure enough it was him...

Recognizing the grain whisky, the former bourbon whisky, Ryuya Zero gritted his teeth, turned around, and quickly turned into a small alley to make a phone call.

"Kazami, what's the situation on the ground?"

“Things haven’t gotten chaotic yet.” Kazami Yuya asked worriedly, “Mr. Furuya, should we arrange an evacuation? What if they’ve planted any more bombs…”

Rei Furuya stared into the depths of the alleyway before him, with the street and the endless stream of people behind him. No one noticed him, hidden in the shadows.

"Don't let anyone leave. Let the First Investigation Division investigate first, and then take over after they return to the Metropolitan Police Department."

He whispered his instructions.

"Huh?" Kazami Yuya was taken aback. "But..."

Rei Furuya looked at the light falling a few steps away from him and calmly added, "I heard Matsuda describe the explosive as a briefcase. I just found the wreckage; it was a specially made briefcase from the Mantendo Corporation."

“If the organization wanted to kill someone with a bomb, Glenn would go to store it, change the number plate, and let the target pick it up without noticing. But this time he went to pick up something, and he didn’t disguise himself, so his face was seen.”

The organization does have members who openly and honestly plant bombs in people's pockets, but that person's codename is Gin, and the others are not so high-profile.

"So the truth is exactly the opposite—he probably made a deal with someone from Full Heaven Company. He didn't disguise himself to avoid being recognized. He got the other party's number plate to pick up the pre-arranged item. But he didn't expect that person to have planted a box of bombs on him..."

If they are employees of Mantiantang Company, the game expo is still ongoing, and they are very likely still at the venue.

If they were allowed to evacuate now, a bullet would likely fall from the sky the moment they stepped out of the hotel, killing this guy who dared to deliver a bomb to the organization.

"I see!"

Kazami Yuya was initially worried about the possibility of a secondary explosion at the scene, but now he is finally relieved.

Rei Furuya began his explanation, a man who was always adept at commanding such operations. But this time, a question flickered deep within him. He believed his previous reasoning was quite sound.

There's one strange thing, though: why did Glenn sense something was wrong when the box was accidentally knocked over? Did he notice something was off about the weight of the box?

Also, why did he push the other person away?
While instructing Yuya Kazami to send someone to keep an eye on the nearby sniper positions, Rei Furuya fell into thought.

...Could it be that they're worried about innocent bystanders being blown up?

……

Mishaps are frequent in the rice cake industry, and soon detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division arrived at the scene.

Megure led his men in and immediately spotted Matsuda Jinpei standing in the ruins, stroking his chin. He was startled and strode closer: "Matsuda? What are you doing here?...Are you injured?!"

As he got closer, he noticed a few red spots that had smudged onto the front of his shirt.

Matsuda Jinpei lowered his hand: "The game convention I attended with my friends was held here. As for these things, they are not my blood."

He stood there alone. Inspector Megure didn't see his so-called friend, but he didn't ask. Just as he was about to inquire about the details of the explosion, his gaze suddenly glanced to the side and noticed two familiar faces:

"Mr. Aoyagi? Conan-kun? What are you two doing here?"

Inspector Megure was somewhat puzzled. Was it just his imagination? Why did he feel that these two were involved in so many recent incidents...?
Conan Edogawa, oblivious to his suspicious gaze, answered naturally, "Mr. Aoyagi and I are also here at the game expo. When the explosion happened, Inspector Matsuda and I were right next to it."

Before the police arrived, someone maintained order and arranged for those present to wait in another room, not allowing them to leave without permission. He was considered a witness and was allowed to stay outside.

Aoyagi Akimitsu nodded in agreement, saying, "I was in the venue at the time, and he came out to buy a drink. I never expected there to be an explosion. It really startled me."

"..."

Megure Juū looked subtly at his calm and expressionless face, which showed no sign of fright whatsoever, and silently ignored it before turning to Matsuda Jinpei.

"Were you at the scene? Did you see any suspicious individuals?"

With his astute colleague Jinpei Matsuda around, he certainly wouldn't ask about the details of Conan Edogawa's case.

Matsuda Jinpei did not answer immediately, as if he was organizing his thoughts, and frowned slightly.

He wasn't sure if he could say that the person was a target of the police and not just an ordinary criminal—if he were just a regular dangerous individual, Furuya Rei would definitely have told him his identity and wouldn't have kept such a crucial detail to himself.

and……

Matsuda Jinpei looked down and saw the glaring scarlet on his collar again.

He remembered everything that happened before he fell into a coma very clearly.

The man tackled them quickly, but Matsuda Jinpei, as an elite detective, reacted swiftly. Before he could resist, the man punched him in the chin.

However, just as he fell backward and lost consciousness, he felt a hand support the back of his head, preventing it from hitting the ground directly.

What exactly is this person trying to do? They've temporarily knocked him unconscious, but it seems... they don't really want to hurt him?

Matsuda Jinpei was full of questions, and he planned to give a brief explanation first. Suddenly, he felt a gaze on him and immediately looked over alertly.

It turned out that it was Aoyagi Akimitsu who was looking at him.

This FBI agent, who used to order the police around without batting an eye, Matsuda Jinpei could feel the other man's gaze on his chin. The moment their eyes met, he felt no guilt whatsoever, and even smiled at him.

Then he casually looked away.

Matsuda Jinpei: "...?"

...Hopefully he wasn't overthinking it; why did he feel this guy was a bit strange? (End of Chapter)