Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

“Mr. Lin, there’s no need to be so nervous,” Black Feather Thief explained calmly. “I’m here tonight only because I was asked by an old friend to retrieve something that originally belonged to him.”

"As for what exactly it is, I am bound by a request and cannot disclose the details as I am fulfilling my duty..."

As he spoke, Kuroba Toichi turned around and headed towards the ventilation window, clearly not intending to linger there any longer and planning to leave after completing his "commission".

However, just as he finished uttering the word "tell," and his body had just turned to the side, seemingly losing focus for a moment,
call!
A very slight gust of wind, yet carrying a sharp, whistling sound, suddenly rushed towards him from behind, from the direction of the ventilation window!

The target was aimed directly at the back of his neck!

The attack came too suddenly, the timing was perfect, and it was completely silent. Clearly, the perpetrators had been lying in wait for a long time, waiting for this perfect opportunity to launch a sneak attack!
As a top-notch magician and aerial acrobat, Black Feather Thief did not attempt to block or retaliate. Instead, he immediately turned and spun around, his white cloak drawing an elegant arc in the air, barely avoiding the fatal blow.

"Ding!"

A soft metallic clang rang out as a dart with a small barb at the end struck the tile where he had been standing, sending up a few specks of gravel.

The dart was deeply embedded in the tile, indicating considerable force.

Almost at the same time, Lin Xiuyi, who was standing on the other side of the chimney, also noticed something was wrong!
He discovered the attacker, Tomizawa Chikage, even before Kuroba Toichi!
She was clearly getting impatient waiting down there. When she climbed up and saw a stranger, she attacked without saying a word!

"Stop!" Lin Xiuyi hurriedly shouted in a low voice.

Tomizawa Chikage's figure leaped from the edge of the ventilation window onto the roof like a nimble cat, a short blade gripped in her hand, her eyes wary and sharp as she stared at Kuroba Toichi, who had just dodged the sneak attack and turned around.

Hearing Lin Xiuyi's shout to stop her, she paused for a moment, then lightly touched the ground with her feet and swiftly retreated. In a few leaps, she was back beside Lin Xiuyi, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, her short blade held horizontally in front of her chest, still maintaining a guarded posture.

Kuroba Toichi lightly patted non-existent dust off his white suit. His gaze behind his monocle first fell on Tomizawa Chikage's signature tight leather jacket and neatly bandaged outfit, then on the uniquely shaped short blade in her hand, and on her bright and sharp eyes that seemed even in the darkness.

"Tsk tsk..."

Kuroba Touichi let out a series of soft, playful clicks of his tongue.
"I never expected the surprises tonight to be one after another. Mr. Lin's companion, if I'm not mistaken... should be the Phantom Thief Lady who has risen to fame in Japan in recent years and loves to rob the rich and give to the poor?"

He paused, his gaze shifting between Tomizawa Chikage and Hayashi Shuichi, his surprise undisguised.
"Based on the news and rumors I'd heard, I always thought the Phantom Thief Lady was a lone wolf, but I never imagined... she actually had companions?"

"Humph!"

Tomizawa Chikage pursed her lips, slightly raised her chin, and replied in a defiant tone,

Is it strange that the two of us are a phantom thief duo?

She retorted verbally, but secretly took a half-step and gently nudged Lin Xiuyi beside her with her elbow.

"Hey, what's going on? Do you know this guy in white? Or... did he recognize you?"

After asking the question, she couldn't help but glance at Kuroba Touichi a few more times, muttering to herself.
"But this guy... he does look kind of familiar. That white suit, that monocle... I feel like I've seen him somewhere before..."

Lin Xiuyi was truly at a loss. Tomizawa Chikage's immediate attack nearly escalated the conflict, and he sighed helplessly.
“Yes, he is. He’s the magician who imitated me at the celebration a couple of days ago.”

"So it was him!" Tomizawa Chikage exclaimed in realization. "No wonder he looked so familiar! Hey, you..." She raised her voice and turned to Kuroba Toichi, intending to question him about his purpose in sneaking in so late at night, and whether he was also after the Mito family's collection...

However, she had barely begun to speak when her gaze inadvertently swept down to the manor below, and her expression suddenly changed!
"Shh!"

Tomizawa Chikage raised her index finger to her lips to signal silence, then instantly lowered her body, her sharp eyes pointing downwards.

Lin Xiuyi and Hei Yu Daoyi looked in the direction she was looking at almost simultaneously.

Below, in the courtyard of the Mito family villa, two police officers were seen rubbing their eyes and walking out of the house with puzzled expressions.

One of them was holding a powerful flashlight and looked up in confusion, scanning back and forth in the direction of the villa's roof.

Clearly, the commotion on the roof had reached those below.

Oh no! Lin Xiuyi thought to himself, "This is bad."

He reacted extremely quickly, grabbing her arm and pulling her back behind the chimney almost at the same time as Tomizawa Chikage warned him.

On the other side, Kuroba Toichi was both highly skilled and daring.

Instead of seeking cover like Lin Xiuyi and the others, he made an unexpected move just before the police officer's flashlight beam swept over him.

He leaped suddenly and landed precisely in front of the open ventilation window.

Without the slightest hesitation, Kuroba Touichi grabbed the ropes that Lin Xiuyi and Tomizawa Chikage had secured earlier and were still hanging inside the cave. He lowered his body and, like an elegant diver entering the water, silently slid into the dark cave entrance and instantly disappeared above the roof.

Below, two police officers, now fully awake, were carefully shining flashlights on the roof of the villa.

"Where is anyone? It's pitch black, all you see are chimneys and roof tiles."

A slightly younger police officer began to complain.
"I told you you misheard! You're being paranoid. The Mito family's servants and butler have already been asked to cooperate with the investigation. Now, in this huge mansion, there's not a soul in sight except for the two of us. Who else could there be?"

“Strange…I clearly heard voices just now,” another slightly older, more cautious-looking officer frowned, looking puzzled.

Undeterred, he raised his flashlight again and carefully swept it across the roof.

The beam of light grazed the edge of the chimney where Lin Xiuyi and Tomizawa Chikage were hiding several times, and at its closest, it almost grazed the tip of Tomizawa Chikage's boot.

The two held their breath, pressed their bodies against the bricks, and dared not even blink.

After scanning the area for over a minute, the flashlight beam swept across the empty ventilation window again, but still found nothing.

The older officer finally shook his head helplessly, his face showing a mixture of exhaustion and confusion.

"Maybe... I really misheard? Or maybe the mountain wind made some kind of tin rustling noise? It's normal for this old house to make some strange noises." (End of Chapter)