Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 474 Pisco's Miscalculation
Click!

bang——

There was a ruckus——

……

At the memorial service, a loud bang caused screams and gasps from the surrounding guests...

At the same time, the organizers immediately turned on the lights.

Only then did everyone see clearly...

The largest and most luxurious chandelier in the hall had fallen down, but instead of hitting the ground, it was carried on the back of "Chief Mika"!

"Chief Mihana" was seen bending over, arms clasped behind his back, posing as if carrying a heavy load on his back, while the large chandelier with an outer diameter of nearly five meters was steadily supported by Shiraishi...

Because some lampposts were broken, there was a lot of broken glass around, and at Shiraishi's feet, there was Tonguchi Shigehiko, who was terrified and had fallen to the ground.

Seeing him staring blankly at the scene, seemingly terrified, Sanpei Nobuo grabbed him by the back of the collar and pulled him out.

At that moment, Shiraishi simply shrugged and moved the chandelier aside...

The main chandelier for such occasions is, of course, a decorative chandelier, with various crystal light pillars and bronze ornaments, which is not only large but also appears magnificent.

Although the bronze ornaments are openwork because they need to be suspended, they still weigh over 100 kilograms. Moreover, the ceiling in the auditorium is raised to the height of a three-story building, so you can imagine the force of the impact when they fall down...

but……

clap clap-

"As expected of Director Mikasa!"

"Luckily, Director Mika is here..."

"I really envy Miss Suzuki... *slurp*"

……

Not only did Shiraishi hold on, but... after the ordinary people realized that he had held on, they even thought, "Just as expected," "As expected of Shiraishi." After being surprised and stunned for three seconds, everyone even inexplicably started to applaud. If they didn't know better, they would think it was the finale.

"You should get up too... You're so useless!" Sanpei Yasuo said to Tonguchi in an annoyed tone.

Sanping is not young, but he is still very strong. Although he is not an athlete, he loves sports. He has not only spent a lot of money to support a professional baseball team, but he also has a "sports-oriented" personality and is very tough.

Naturally, they looked down on the terrified swallow...

"What's going on with this hotel?"

"How could this fall down... If it weren't for Chief Mikasa, wouldn't someone have died?"

"It looks high-end, but it's so dangerous."

"I'm so sorry, we'll prepare another auditorium for everyone right away..."

Beihu Hotel was unfairly blamed at this time, with everyone assuming it was due to years of disrepair.

But just then, Shiraishi spoke up: "Don't move! Someone just fired a shot..."

While others didn't notice, Bai Shi certainly wouldn't miss the gunshot—the chandelier's ring hadn't come off by itself; it had been shot and broken by a silenced pistol!

Although a silencer won't completely eliminate the gunshot, the host was speaking and there was background noise from the projector, which is why no one noticed.

However, since Shiraishi heard it, the murderer's days are numbered!
As long as everyone is left behind and the gunpowder reaction is checked one by one, the murderer will eventually be caught.

However, what Shiraishi didn't expect was that at this moment...

boom--

Suddenly, an explosion rang out outside the auditorium!

At the same time, a man dressed as a waiter suddenly pushed open the door and shouted, "There's a bomb outside! Everyone evacuate immediately!"

Bai Shi's expression immediately changed, and he wanted to stop it, but as soon as he heard there was a bomb, the people in the hall immediately went wild, and the crowd surged out, which even Bai Shi could not stop.

If Shiraishi were at the entrance, he could stop everyone, but he's currently deep inside the auditorium.

At this point, everyone was on the verge of causing a stampede. If Shiraishi were to force his way through, several more people would likely die!
At the same time, looking over a patch of heads that was either lush or sparse, Shiraishi glared at the waiter at the door—something was wrong with this guy!
Logically, in a situation like this, even if evacuation is necessary, order should be maintained. But this guy is completely inciting chaos, and...

There was an explosion outside, and this guy walked in the next second!

The other party seemed to think that there were enough people between them, and they were all "innocent people," so they were sure that Shiroshi couldn't rush over immediately. They stared at Shiroshi with a smug look on their face and then turned around and left with the crowd.

Her checkmark immediately made Shiraishi realize—although she looked like a man, it was... Vermouth!

In that instant, Shiraishi even had an impulse to raise [Intimidation] to Lv10. Previously at the aquarium, Shiraishi had raised it to Lv8, but due to the influence of other attributes, it was corrected by +2. If it had been raised to Lv10, even if it couldn't break through the limit, the effect would definitely be different.

However, it was just a momentary impulse, and Shiraishi ultimately gave up...

Not to mention that it would reset all of Shiraishi's points, even if he did reach Lv10, Shiraishi wasn't sure whether activating Intimidate at this point would scare everyone into fainting or standing frozen, or make them even more panicked!

If they faint or stand frozen, that would be ideal, but if they flee in a more panicked manner, it will only escalate the chaos further.

Shiraishi estimates that it will mostly just make people more panicked.

To frighten someone into fainting with sheer force is, by all accounts, an act that defies all norms and borders on the "supernatural."

So Shiraishi, disregarding Vermouth and his own thoughts, immediately began searching for the two "children."

For most people, there would be no way to find someone in this situation, but Shiraishi is different...

For Shiraishi, although the crowds were surging, it was a third-person perspective from top to bottom, giving him a clear advantage from his elevated position.

Shiraishi soon noticed that Yukiko was protecting Ai in front of her to prevent her from getting lost, while passively following the crowd outwards.

Judging from her looking around, she was probably trying to find Conan, her son, but unfortunately she wasn't tall enough and couldn't see anything except the people surrounding her as she walked forward.

even……

Even if she's tall enough, it's useless!

"Oh no..." Shiraishi then realized that Conan was gone!
Although given his size, it's possible that even if he crawled between someone's legs, Shiraishi wouldn't be able to see him, considering his current attire, it's not impossible that he might have encountered danger.

After a period of chaos...

Fortunately, after the crowd poured out of the auditorium, although they found the hotel corridors filled with smoke, it was only the first floor, so they quickly arrived at the main entrance and... were stopped by the staff of Beika Hotel!

By this time, the group that had come all the way had regained some composure and believed the hotel staff's words—although there had indeed been an explosion, it was small in scale and mainly consisted of smoke-generating devices…

More importantly, the police informed them that they were being stopped here and no one was allowed to leave the hotel now.

At Akira Sakamaki's memorial service, a suspected shooting and bombing occurred, which naturally alerted the Metropolitan Police Department immediately!

After all, there were many important figures present at the memorial service, as well as many "public figures".

These actors, directors, screenwriters, and the like may not be big names, but they all attract public attention. If things aren't handled properly, the Metropolitan Police Department will face immense public pressure.

When Megure arrived, he immediately spotted Shiraishi and rushed over to ask, "Brother Shiraishi, what's going on here?"

“Just like they said on the phone, there’s at least one gunman and one bomber among these people… The gunman didn’t shoot directly at anyone, but instead hit the chandelier’s connection point. The bomber didn’t have many explosives; it was probably to mislead people,” Shiraishi explained simply.

"Did you fix the connection point of the chandelier?" Megure's tone became serious.

The white bird beside it also had a solemn expression...

Well, those two guys with terrible marksmanship were stunned by the effect.

Although the island nation also has strict gun control, as long as one has connections with violent organizations, it is always possible to obtain guns...

However, upon hearing about the marksmanship, it's clear that the perpetrator was not some petty thug, but a professional gunman!

Not to mention, with bombers providing cover and taking advantage of the chaos, this is clearly a well-organized criminal gang with highly professional members.

"The killer's target is..." Megure was about to ask another question.

Shiraishi's phone rang at that moment.

"It's that Shigehiko Tobuchi... He disappeared during the evacuation, but he probably can't leave the hotel. Wait a moment while I take a call." Shiraishi said as he answered the phone.

After speaking, Shiraishi walked a few steps away, as if making a private phone call.

Megure had no time to wonder why Shiraishi was making such a secret phone call at this hour. He immediately ordered the officers to search the hotel.

At the same time, Shiraishi finally received a call from Conan!
After everyone came out, Conan disappeared. Shiraishi called him several times, but no one answered. Then Conan called him.

"Hey, where are you?" Shiraishi asked immediately.

"It should... be in a wine cellar," Conan said weakly.

"Wine cellar? What's going on?" Shiraishi frowned upon hearing this.

"When everyone was evacuating, someone covered my mouth and nose with ether... When I woke up, I was here... Sure enough, the door was locked from the inside, and there were no windows. I'll try to confirm my location first..." Conan made a phone call while also checking his surroundings.

Upon hearing this, Bai Shi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then there's no need to worry. You should still be in the hotel... All the guests in the banquet hall have been stopped. Hmm... Although one is missing, it shouldn't be the person who kidnapped you."

After having the hotel staff stop everyone, Shiraishi checked the guest list and found that only one person was missing—Chris Vineyard, who was nominally a 29-year-old American actress.

However, Shiraishi had already guessed it by then...

This should be Vermouth's usual identity!

Shiraishi estimated that she had originally entered the venue as a guest under this identity, and should have left decisively after seeing him—otherwise, Shiraishi would indeed have likely discovered her.

Although Shiraishi wasn't sure if she was disguised under this identity, even if she wasn't, Shiraishi would definitely pay extra attention to this "American actress".

The brief chase in Aomori had made Vermouth very wary of Shiraishi, and upon discovering that he had also arrived, she promptly left the scene.

And after Pisco's assassination attempt failed, he immediately assisted Pisco in taking advantage of the chaos...

The smoke generator in the corridor, though it only looked scary, actually left most of the guests with traces of black powder residue on their clothes!

Therefore, the reaction of gunpowder smoke proves nothing at all.

However, according to Conan, he was taken hostage after the explosion, so...

Vermouth disguised herself as a waitress and incited people at the door, and even made eye contact with Shiraishi; she obviously didn't have the chance to do so.

So……

Shiraishi reasonably suspects that Pisco did it!

“It’s very likely that Pisco is the one who kidnapped you. He probably has a social identity that he can’t give up. He came back here after learning about the blockade. I’ll go ask about the location of the wine cellar now… Have you noticed anything noteworthy?” Shiraishi reminded him.

"Hmm, he must have disguised himself as a cleaner and brought me here in a tub of sanitary ware." Conan had already noticed the clothes and sanitary ware at the scene.

Pisco had clearly made preparations in advance.

Not only were they very familiar with the hotel's layout, but they also received a uniform and a key.

Pisco probably took Conan to a secluded wine cellar in the hotel first, and then learned that they were checking a list there. Because he didn't want to abandon the identity of "Chris Vineyard" like Vermouth did, he quickly turned back.

In other words, Conan is still quite safe—after all, Pisco can't leave at all right now.

"Oh right, I remember now... When I was half-conscious, I think I heard him say something... I made a mistake... He actually deliberately got that hairstyle... 'No, I'm going back right away,' yes! He said that too, it shouldn't be him talking to himself, he was talking to his accomplice!" As Conan became more and more awake, his memories of being unconscious gradually returned.

Pisco was indeed swearing just now...

Upon seeing Conan wearing a wig and makeup, Pisco's heart immediately pounded—he had seen what Sherry looked like as a child, after all, he was a contemporary of Sherry's parents!

It was because he recognized Sherry that, after failing to assassinate Tonguchi, he did not continue targeting Tonguchi, but instead kidnapped Sherry (Conan).

who knows……

After pulling down his mask, Pisco discovered that she seemed quite different from the "Sherry he remembered from childhood"!
"Ah! We found his computer... This is a personal computer with an access port, accessing the Black Organization's database... Sure enough! He's looking for Sherry's information!" Conan exclaimed excitedly.

That's right, Pisco, unwilling to give up, checked Sherry's information again and confirmed that... "Conan trying to disguise himself as Sherry" was not Sherry.

"Sherry's information? He just searched it?" Shiraishi's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"Yeah, that should be it, just as you predicted." Conan said, pursing his lips—you were right, I really did ward off disaster.

"Let's see how old she is," Shiraishi asked curiously.

"Let me see... Huh? Only 18 years old?" Conan was also curious, then quite surprised.

Conan immediately coughed and said, "Alright, this isn't the time to talk about that. Tell me about your situation first. We must arrest Pisco so we can confiscate this computer!"

Conan wanted to showcase his deductive skills, but Shiraishi fell silent upon hearing this.

Immediately, Shiraishi asked, "Since you can find Sherry... why don't you just search for Pisco?"

Conan: ...

(End of this chapter)