I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 725 Escaping the Lockdown Zone (2 Updates)
As Shiraishi E and Vermouth descended the cold concrete stairs and turned a platform, they heard a cacophony of sounds coming from below—footsteps, whispers, and panting—growing rapidly and clearly.

Soon, a steady stream of panicked office workers poured into the fire escape through the fire doors below.

Most of them were dressed in suits or business skirts, some carrying laptops or document bags, their faces showing a mixture of confusion and tension, but they maintained order as a whole, like a startled but not yet dissipated stream, flowing orderly down the spiral staircase.

Shiraishi E and Vermouth immediately stopped and quickly exchanged a glance.

Without a word, the two instantly reached a consensus—to infiltrate it.

They adjusted their postures with great tacit understanding: Shiraishi took off the black trench coat that was covered in dust from the plane crash and casually draped it over her arm, revealing an inconspicuous dark shirt underneath.
Vermouth quickly ran her fingers through her slightly disheveled blond hair, composed herself, and put on a mask that blended in with the crowd, one that conveyed a sense of panic and exhaustion.

The next second, they were like two drops of water merging into a river, naturally blending into the downward-moving flow of people.

As the floors descended, more and more people rushed into the escape routes, making the space somewhat crowded, and the air was filled with a complex smell of sweat, perfume, and dust.

Uninformed whispers began to echo in the stairwell:

"What happened? Is it a fire alarm? I didn't hear the alarm!" A young woman asked her colleague nervously, arms crossed.

"I don't know, they suddenly said there was an emergency evacuation..."

A slightly trembling male voice broke in, filled with lingering fear: "I heard from the people coming down from upstairs that it wasn't a fire! It was... a plane crashed into the building!"

"What?! An airplane? My God! Could it be..." Someone immediately recalled some terrifying memories in horror.

"This time it was a helicopter!" another relatively calm voice explained, trying to reassure, but unable to hide a hint of panic. "It seems to have crashed directly through the glass curtain wall, just a few floors above. I heard there was an explosion!"

Complaints followed, filled with the daily hardships of working people: "Sigh, I've been coding all day, and I haven't even had time to press Ctrl+S..."

A programmer wearing black-rimmed glasses lamented, "Who isn't? All the reports I just finished are gone!"

"I had an international video conference scheduled, and now it's all ruined..."

"........."

These complaints, full of everyday life, sounded strangely like background noise at this moment, effectively masking the sense of incongruity between the two real fugitives and their surroundings.

Using the crowd as cover, Vermouth tilted her head slightly and whispered in a voice only Shiraishi E could hear, her tone carrying a cautious optimism after assessment: "The situation is better than expected."

“Apart from the eyewitnesses on the crash floor, those who were evacuated later had no idea of ​​the specific details. They only knew that there was a plane crash and they needed to escape. The confusion was our best cover.”

Shiraishi E nodded. The mask he had worn to cover his face might now become the focus of attention.

He casually took it off, stuffed it into his trench coat pocket, revealing his seemingly calm and expressionless face.

His gaze swept quickly across the throng of people ahead and the possible surveillance cameras at the corner of the stairs, and he replied in a low voice, "Yeah, I hope we can get out of this troublesome place safely."

The two stopped talking and silently followed the crowd down the mountain.

They concealed all their murderous intent and sharpness, perfectly hiding themselves amidst countless ordinary fears and haste, heading towards the building's exit, and also stealthily making their way to the next unknown and perilous journey.

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The long forty minutes felt like an eternity in the narrow, oppressive, and stuffy fire escape.

Shiraishi E and Vermouth mingled in the dispersing crowd, their steps heavy as they moved downwards, each repetitive staircase turn wearing down their strength and patience.

When they finally pushed open the heavy fire door on the ground floor and breathed in relatively fresh air again, before they could even feel relieved, the scene before them made their hearts sink.

The area outside the building was not as chaotic and disorderly as one might imagine.

Instead, the scene was well-controlled by the police and emergency responders. All personnel evacuated from the building were directed to designated open areas and required to form long lines for individual checks and identity verification by uniformed personnel.

The police cordon was set up, and searchlights illuminated the area as bright as day. The police officers looked stern, their sharp eyes scanning every person in the crowd. The atmosphere was as heavy as a solid block.

Vermouth's delicate brows furrowed immediately, and she muttered a curse under her breath: "This is troublesome... I didn't expect them to react so quickly, and they even have to screen people." This level of control far exceeds the procedures for handling ordinary accident scenes.

Shiraishi Eya was slightly surprised, but calmly analyzed, "In this situation, the priority should be treating the wounded and maintaining order. Such meticulous identity verification is like... searching for a specific target."

Upon hearing this, Vermouth's lips curled into a cold, mocking smile: "If it were just an ordinary plane accident, there would certainly be no need for such a fuss... But now that I've taken something so important from the organization, they will definitely mobilize all available overt and covert forces to find us at all costs."

The organization's reach has clearly penetrated into the on-site command system.

The two had no choice but to lower their heads and blend into the back of a slow-moving line.

As Shiraishi E moved forward with the crowd, she glanced around at the police deployment and potential entry points, her voice calm yet laced with menace as she said, "Looks like the soft approach isn't working; we'll have to resort to force. We have no choice but to fight our way out."

Vermouth, too, was silently observing her surroundings, her mind racing, searching for the best opportunity: "Are you planning to split up and draw fire, or concentrate your forces to tear an opening?"

Shiraishi E chuckled softly, a hint of undeniable control in her voice: "Let's fight our way out together. What if you're unlucky enough to get caught? Wouldn't all my previous efforts have been for nothing?"

Vermouth glanced at him sideways, her smile somewhat blurred in the backlight of the searchlight: "Heh... It feels nice to be cared for. So, do you have a specific escape plan? Just a heads up, it'll be our turn to be 'investigated' in about five minutes."

Shiraishi nodded, her gaze fixed on the equipment hanging from the waist of a fully armed SWAT officer a few meters away.

“Yes,” he said succinctly. “I’m planning to borrow a stun grenade from them.”

"Listen, when I say three, two, one, you immediately close your eyes and cover your ears tightly. Remember, no matter what noise you hear, don't open your eyes until I pull you up."

Vermouth didn't question it at all and readily agreed, "Okay!" She completely handed over control of her body to the man beside her.

The team continued moving forward, getting closer and closer to the checkpoint.

Shiraishi E seized the moment when a policeman's attention was slightly distracted, and counted down in a very low but clear voice: "Three..." "Two..." "One... Close your eyes!"

The moment Vermouth heard the word "one," she immediately closed her eyes tightly and covered her ears with both hands, immersing herself completely in darkness and silence.

However, Shiraishi E did not attempt to steal the stun grenade from the police officer as he had promised.

Instead, he directly redeemed a military-grade stun grenade from the bandit shop, silently slipped it into his palm, and then flicked his wrist, accurately rolling it to an open space to the side of the crowd.

A sharp-eyed policeman spotted an unidentified object rolling on the ground. When he saw its shape clearly, his expression changed drastically, and he roared, "Stun grenade! Take evasive action—!"

But his warning came half a second too late.

"Bang——!!!"

An extremely bright light, accompanied by a deafening bang that could pierce eardrums, suddenly exploded!

The intense light, like the midday sun, burst forth before our eyes, instantly blinding everyone within range, while the deafening sound assaulted our eardrums, causing a persistent buzzing and dizziness.

The crowd near the explosion point was thrown into chaos, screaming in pain and shouting in panic.

The moment Shiraishi E threw the stun grenade, he closed his eyes and covered his ears. Relying on his memory and senses, his movements did not falter at all. As if by magic, several more stun grenades appeared out of thin air in his hand, which he threw at an extremely fast speed in different directions—the cordon, the area where police cars were gathered, the perimeter of the command center…

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

One explosion after another rang out, and blinding white light flashed in different corners, turning this once orderly evacuation zone into a chaotic inferno.

The combined effects of tinnitus and dizziness caused more people to scream and fall to the ground, or to stumble around like headless flies. The police maintaining order were also in danger, and the command system instantly collapsed. Cries, screams, and alarms mingled together, and the scene was completely out of control.

"go!"

Amidst the chaos, Shiraishi E precisely grabbed Vermouth's arm and let out a low shout.

Vermouth felt a pull and immediately opened her eyes in understanding. Taking advantage of the man-made, extreme chaos, she quickly escaped the sealed-off area with Shiraishi E.

(End of this chapter)