Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

It was well past 11 p.m., but the main entrance of the exhibition hall was still brightly lit, the dazzling lights illuminating the square in front of it.

Dozens of staff members and porters in uniform were busy carefully transporting the terracotta warriors, which were secured and packaged in specially made shockproof wooden crates, out of the exhibition area and onto pre-arranged transport trucks to be sent to the port by the sea.

Chinese staff were already waiting at the port. Once the Terracotta Warriors arrived, they would be immediately transferred to Chinese transport ships and returned overnight.

The entire transportation process was escorted by the Osaka Police Headquarters, with a large number of police officers deployed along the route, forming a tight security network.

"Finally got rid of this thing. It was so nerve-wracking."

Ms. Yamada, who is in charge of the museum's artifact management, stood aside and looked at the terracotta warriors that were firmly fixed in the wooden box. She breathed a long sigh of relief and a look of relief appeared on her face.

These past few days have been filled with turmoil. As the person in charge of managing the volunteers, she has been under tremendous pressure, fearing that anything might go wrong with the Terracotta Warriors. Now that they are finally being sent off, she can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

As soon as Ms. Yamada finished speaking, Ms. Sato, who was in charge of explaining the Terracotta Warriors exhibition area, sighed softly, her eyes filled with regret: "It's a pity that such a precious Terracotta Warrior is not a Japanese artifact. The craftsmanship and shape of this terracotta figure are of great research value. It would be great if it could stay in Japan for proper research."

"Don't worry, we might unearth similar artifacts in Japan someday," Mr. Takahashi, dressed in a volunteer uniform, said with a smile.

“We don’t have a similar terracotta figurine burial culture in Japan, so how could we possibly have unearthed such terracotta warriors?” Ms. Suzuki, who was also a volunteer, shook her head, her tone tinged with helplessness.

"You think he's talking about serious archaeology?"

Standing to the side, Ms. Nakamura curled her lip, her tone laced with sarcasm.

"He's referring to forgery! Every year, there are many criminals who specialize in forging antiquities, either to sell them for profit or to collude with unscrupulous scholars to commit archaeological fraud, creating so-called 'historical sites' to defraud the government of research funding. This kind of thing is no secret in the industry."

Mr. Takahashi's thoughts were exposed by Ms. Nakamura, and he immediately looked embarrassed. He opened his mouth but could not refute it, so he could only shut his mouth and turn around to help move other items.

Ms. Sato and Ms. Suzuki exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes. They said nothing more and continued to silently organize the items in the exhibition area.

In the shadows not far from them, Lin Xiuyi stood side by side with Hattori Heizo, their eyes fixed on the wooden crates of terracotta warriors that were about to be loaded onto a truck.

The two carefully observed every movement around them, afraid of missing any suspicious details.

"Chinese staff are already waiting at the port, and the transport ship is docked at the pier, ready to set sail at any time."

Hattori Heizo lowered his voice, his tone tinged with seriousness.

"From the exhibition hall to the port, the whole journey takes about forty minutes, passing through three main roads and two tunnels, all of which are prone to accidents. If the other party wanted to make a move, their only chance would be in these places."

He paused and continued,
"As per the plan we discussed with Minister Chi Bo, we arranged for ten police cars to escort the terracotta warriors along the route, five at the front and five at the rear, with the transport trucks traveling in the middle. In addition, we deployed plainclothes officers to conduct covert surveillance at buildings and intersections along the way, ready to take immediate action if any suspicious persons or vehicles are spotted." "The outcome hinges on this," Lin Xiuyi shrugged. "With such tight security, if someone still manages to replace or steal the terracotta warriors, we'll truly have no face to show our faces."

Just then, Officer Furukawa, dressed in plainclothes, came running up, panting.

After arriving beside the two, he stopped, bent over, and gasped for breath. It took him a while to calm down.

"Mr. Lin, Mr. Hattori, everything is arranged." Officer Furukawa's tone was somewhat tired. "The tracking officers at each intersection and tunnel entrance are in place, and all the surveillance cameras along the route are turned on, transmitting the footage to the police headquarters command center in real time. If there is any abnormality, we will receive the news immediately."

Hattori Heizo nodded, but his face still showed some worry: "Thank you for your hard work, Officer Furukawa. I just don't know if the information has leaked out. If the other side knows our escort route and arrangements in advance, they may change their plans or set up a more hidden trap."

"Don't worry, Mr. Hattori, there will be absolutely no problem," Officer Furukawa said confidently. "The officers responsible for tracking and escorting are all elites selected by the Chief from the First and Third Investigation Divisions. Their loyalty and ability are absolutely reliable. Moreover, the Chief specifically instructed that this mission be kept strictly confidential. Apart from the participants, no one knows the specific escort route and arrangements."

"Besides, the minister's orders to them were to 'prevent the Lady Thief from stealing the Terracotta Warriors along the way,' so everyone thought that our goal was to prevent the Lady Thief from stealing them."

"Even if someone accidentally leaks the information to the thief, they will only think that our defenses are aimed at the Lady Thief. They will not suspect that we have already discovered that there is someone else behind it, and they will not think that we have laid a trap and are just waiting for them to walk into it."

Lin Xiuyi and Hattori Heizo exchanged a glance, both seeing approval in each other's eyes.

Takeshi Ikenami's feint was a clever tactic, both deceiving the thief and allowing the police officers to perform their duties—a win-win situation.

While the group was talking, the wooden crates containing the terracotta warriors had already been carefully loaded into the cargo truck by the porters.

Several staff members carefully checked the wooden crates to ensure they would not shake or be damaged during transport.

The truck driver then closed the cargo door, locked the special anti-theft lock, turned around, jumped into the driver's seat, and started the truck.

The transport trucks slowly started and drove towards the main road outside the exhibition hall.

Two police cars immediately followed, forming the first protective circle. The remaining police cars also started up one after another and followed behind. The entire convoy drove in an orderly manner toward the port.

The car headlights shattered the silence of the night, leaving long shadows on the empty streets.

Lin Xiuyi and Hattori Heizo immediately followed Officer Furukawa into his private car and carefully followed behind the escort convoy, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, so that they would not be noticed by the convoy but could still clearly observe its movements.

The atmosphere inside the car instantly became tense. None of the three spoke, their eyes fixed on the convoy ahead and their surroundings, afraid to miss any unusual activity. (End of Chapter)