Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Lin Xiuyi was unable to refute, and simply waved his hand, indicating that he needed to take a break.

After a short rest, the two dared not linger and immediately set to work.

She moved as lightly as a raccoon across the sloping roof and quickly arrived at the ventilation window she had previously locked.

The skylight was a small window with a wooden frame and frosted glass, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

She took out a glass cutter and suction cup that Lin Xiuyi had seen before from her toolbox and carefully cut along the edge of the air vent.

A few minutes later, a complete piece of glass was carefully removed and placed aside.

Tomizawa Chikage peered inside; it was pitch black, and she could vaguely smell dust and the odor of old paper.

She secured one end of the rope to a sturdy spot on the roof and let the other end hang down into the hole.

"I'll go down. You stay up here and keep an eye on the ropes," Tomizawa Chikage whispered. "Stay alert; the patrol officers from earlier might come back."

Lin Xiu nodded, barely managed to sit up, and leaned against the shadow of the chimney, her sharp gaze sweeping across the courtyard below and the main gate in the distance, while also paying some attention to the rope hanging down into the hole.

Tomizawa Chikage took a deep breath, grabbed the rope with both hands, and nimbly slid into the dark cave entrance, quickly disappearing from sight.

The rope swayed slightly a few times before returning to steady motion; only occasional tremors indicated that the people below were moving.

Lin Xiuyi remained alone on the rooftop. The night wind seemed to grow colder, causing her cloak to flutter loudly.

Time ticked by. No signals came from below, and the rope remained almost completely still.

Lin Xiuyi's heart gradually calmed down; it seemed that Tomizawa Chikage was making good progress inside.

As a phantom thief who "robs the rich to help the poor," Tomizawa Chikage had already locked onto his target during his daytime visit.

She wasn't interested in the most valuable porcelain or bronze artifacts.

The former is too fragile; it will become a waste with the slightest bump, making it extremely risky to carry.

The latter is extremely heavy, difficult to move, and conspicuous.

Chikage Tomizawa chose scrolls of calligraphy and painting that could be rolled up and stored.

These scrolls often carry extremely high artistic and historical value, and are equally valuable on the black market. They are also easy to carry and hide.

More importantly, her goal was not to amass wealth for herself.

Chikage Tomizawa estimated that taking only two or three antique paintings of moderate value and selling them would be enough to distribute the proceeds to the victims of the Sennichimae Department Store fire and alleviate their financial difficulties.

In the dark storage room, Tomizawa Chikage quickly located the area where the paintings and calligraphy were stored, relying on her memory and the faint beam of a miniature flashlight.

She moved nimbly and cautiously, avoiding any markings or sensors that the police might have left on the ground, and quickly selected three well-framed ancient paintings of moderate size.

The ancient painting is rolled up, placed into a scroll, wrapped in a special waterproof and shockproof cloth, and securely tied to the back.

No longer greedy, Tomizawa Chikage quickly returned to the rope below the ventilation window and tugged on it.

As agreed, this was the signal for Lin Xiuyi to pull her up.

Once, twice, three times.

The rope swayed slightly, but the expected upward pulling force did not come from above.

Tomizawa Chikage frowned and tugged harder, making the rope sway more noticeably, but there was still no reaction from above.

If it were someone else, they might suspect that their companion was after the money, or that they were too cowardly to care and ran away on their own.

But during the time she had known Hayashi Hideichi, Tomizawa Chikage knew that he was by no means that kind of person.

He might be unwilling, or he might feel it was risky, but since he had agreed, he would never abandon his teammates halfway. Therefore, the only explanation is that something must have happened up there!
Tomizawa Chikage's heart sank suddenly, and the ease she had felt from her successful operation vanished instantly.

She immediately turned off the flashlight, completely concealing herself in the darkness of the collection room, holding her breath, and listening intently to any sounds coming from the roof.

……

Let's rewind to about five minutes ago.

After Tomizawa Chikage slid down the rope, Hayashi Hideichi adjusted his posture slightly so that he could observe the subtle movements of the rope hanging into the hole while also keeping an eye on the surrounding environment.

Just as his gaze routinely swept over the dimly lit area behind the villa, which connected to the forest behind the mountain, his eyes suddenly fixed on something.

Against the backdrop of the deep night, a dark shadow, more profound than darkness itself and with indistinct outlines, was flying steadily from the direction of the forest behind the villa toward the roof.
That posture doesn't resemble the flapping of a bird's wings; it's more like... gliding?
Lin Xiuyi squinted, trying to focus.

Moonlight occasionally peeked through gaps in the clouds, outlining the general shape of the thing.

As the distance rapidly closed, aided by the faint light of the distant city, he finally saw clearly.

That's not an animal at all!
It was a triangular, open hang glider!

The wings were dark, almost blending into the night sky.

A blurry human figure was hanging below the glider, seemingly manipulating the wing and precisely adjusting its direction, its target the roof of the Mito family villa.

Moreover, it seems to be the area where Lin Xiuyi is located!

Lin Xiuyi's heart suddenly tightened, and a chill ran up her spine to the top of her head.

Besides them, are there other people eyeing this place tonight?
And this is how they made their appearance?

Friend or foe?

Were they another group of thieves eyeing the cultural relics?

Or...someone else?

Lin Xiuyi quickly glanced around.

The roof is not flat; it has sloping tiles, a protruding chimney, ventilation ducts, and some decorative stone carvings.

The closest thing to him was an old-fashioned chimney made of red bricks, about the height of a person, casting a thick shadow in the moonlight.

That's it!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Xiuyi gripped the seemingly decorative but actually concealed cane tightly in his hand and silently disappeared behind the wide shadow of the chimney.

He chose a clever location, right on the side of the chimney closest to the inside of the villa.

Looking from the direction the hang glider came from, the chimney itself would create a blind spot, completely obscuring his figure.

Lin Xiu held her breath, pressing her body tightly against the cold bricks, as if even her heartbeat was being deliberately suppressed.

The faint sound of the glider rubbing against the air grew closer and closer, finally punctuated by the rustling of fabric against the tiles and the soft "tap" of a shoe sole touching the roof.

The person landed with light and steady movements, clearly a seasoned veteran.

After packing up the paraglider, the visitor stood on the roof and looked around before walking toward the ventilation window.

His route happened to pass by the chimney where Lin Xiuyi was hiding.

It's now!

As the figure reached the side of the chimney, Lin Xiuyi suddenly lunged forward, attempting to use his cane to subdue the other person… (End of Chapter)