Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

The footsteps disappeared completely.

Lin Xiuyi knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

The marks on my neck, wrists, and waist stung terribly, and the wound on my right hand was still bleeding.

At the other end of the tunnel, the beam of a flashlight swept over; it was Hattori Heizo.

"Lin! Are you alright?"

Lin Xiuyi leaned against the wall to stand up and put the dagger back in her pocket: "I'm fine."

Deep inside the tunnel, darkness remained thick.

But then the emergency lights suddenly came on again, one, two... gradually restoring illumination.

It was as if the darkness just now, and that life-or-death struggle, were all just an illusion.

Only the bloodstains on the ground and the fine scratches left by the thread on the wall proved that something had indeed happened here.

Lin Xiuyi touched the marks on her neck and turned to walk towards the light source.

As he approached, Hattori Heizo finally saw the situation clearly in the dim emergency light and immediately asked anxiously, "What's this on you...?"

Lin Xiuyi's jacket had a long tear on the left shoulder, the edge of the fabric was rolled up, and the skin underneath was vaguely visible with scars.

His right wrist was even more horrific, with a deep, flesh-revealing ligature mark around it, and blood seeping from the wound, dripping down his fingertips.

He also had similar marks on his neck, though they were lighter, but they had turned bluish-purple.

He looked like he had just escaped from the gallows.

“We’ve encountered a formidable enemy,” Lin Xiuyi shook his head, his voice hoarse from the neck injury.

He did not elaborate on the struggle deep in the tunnel; that would take time to explain, and time was what he lacked most right now.

Lin Xiuyi looked around. The emergency lights in the tunnel had been restored to about half of their original brightness, and the visibility was barely enough. "How about you guys? Is there anything unusual?"

“No,” Hattori Heizo took out a tissue from his pocket to stop the bleeding on Lin Xiuyi’s right hand. “After all the lights went out, Officer Furukawa told everyone not to make any rash moves and just to guard the truck carrying the terracotta warriors.”

“Those attackers may have wanted to take advantage of the chaos to do something, but the police reacted quickly and immediately formed a defensive perimeter, preventing them from finding an opening.”

Lin Xiu nodded, her gaze sweeping across the tunnel.

Seven or eight masked men, all subdued and handcuffed, were lying on the ground, guarded by police.

Other officers, armed and on guard, surrounded the transport truck in the center.

Although the scene was somewhat chaotic, it was generally well under control.

"That's good," Lin Xiuyi looked around in confusion, "Where's Officer Furukawa?"

“He was just here a moment ago; he must have gone to check the truck,” Hattori Heizo explained. “He said he needed to check if the cargo hold seals were intact.”

Lin Xiuyi frowned slightly. For some reason, he felt a vague unease in his heart.

Perhaps his earlier encounter with the spider had made him overly cautious, or perhaps it was the intuition honed by his long career as a police officer in his previous life that made him feel that things wouldn't end so simply.

“Let’s go take a look,” Lin Xiuyi suggested.

The two quickly arrived at the truck carrying the terracotta warriors.

The specially designed transport vehicle was entirely black, and in the dim light, it almost blended into the shadows of the tunnel.

The cargo door was tightly closed, and the seal on it was a special anti-counterfeiting electronic seal. If it was damaged or opened abnormally, it would immediately send an alarm to the monitoring center.

Officer Furukawa was indeed here, carefully examining every detail of the seal with a flashlight.

He heard footsteps, turned around and saw Lin Xiuyi. His gaze lingered for a moment on Lin Xiuyi's injured area, but he didn't ask any further questions. "The seal is intact, no signs of tampering,"

Officer Furukawa visibly relaxed.

"Electronic monitoring also showed that the environment inside the cargo hold was stable, with no abnormal vibrations or temperature changes. It seems those guys didn't have time to make a move."

Lin Xiuyi did not respond immediately.

He walked around the truck, his sharp eyes scanning every detail: the wheels, the chassis, the roof, and the gaps in the cargo door.

Everything seemed normal, but the feeling of unease grew stronger and stronger.

“Then let’s keep going,” Lin Xiuyi finally said.

Perhaps I'm overthinking it, or perhaps the spider's appearance was just an unexpected incident.

The most important thing now is to safely deliver the Terracotta Warriors to the port.

Officer Furukawa nodded and gave instructions over the radio: "Attention all personnel, clear the road. The convoy is ready to proceed. The injured will remain and await support. The rest will proceed as planned."

The police acted swiftly, the attackers' vehicle was towed to the side of the road, the wounded were taken care of, and the road was quickly cleared.

The lead vehicle restarted, the transport vehicles followed, and the rear guard vehicles brought up the rear.

The convoy of three vehicles set off again, heading towards the tunnel exit.

Lin Xiuyi, Hattori Heizo, and Officer Furukawa returned to the inconspicuous gray private car and once again trailed behind the convoy.

The tunnel gradually brightened, and the light at the exit became visible.

However, the convoy stopped abruptly as soon as it exited the tunnel.

"what happened?"

Officer Furukawa frowned, drove over, got out, and walked to a police car parked at the tunnel exit to ask questions.

The police car was parked in a clever spot, blocking half the lane and forcing the convoy to slow down and stop.

The police car window slowly rolled down, and the person sitting inside surprised Officer Furukawa. It was none other than Takeshi Ikenami, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Osaka Police Headquarters and the official person in charge of this operation.

"Minister Ikenami? What are you doing here?" Officer Furukawa asked in surprise.

According to the original plan, Takeshi Ikenami should have been waiting for the handover at the port, rather than being intercepted en route.

Takeshi Ikenami looked very serious, even a little impatient: "Because of the attack just now, the previous plan must be changed. Have the driver take another route to the dock immediately."

"Another route?" Officer Furukawa paused for a moment. "Minister, the route we planned in advance has undergone a safety assessment. Changing it at the last minute may increase the risk."

"Furthermore, the Chinese handover team at the port is still waiting for us. If the route is changed, we need to notify them to adjust the arrangements..."

"Didn't you hear me?" Takeshi Ikenami interrupted impatiently, his voice suddenly rising. "Have the driver switch routes immediately! If we delay any longer, who knows if those people will launch a second attack! We almost had an accident in the tunnel just now, are you still going to be stubborn?"

Officer Furukawa was somewhat bewildered by the sudden and stern reprimand.

In his memory, Ikenami Takeshi was serious, but he would never give orders in such an emotional way.

Moreover, as a collaborator with the police, the minister has always respected professional judgment and will not arbitrarily change the established plan midway through the operation.

"……yes,"

Despite his doubts, Officer Furukawa had no choice but to nod in agreement when faced with clear orders from his superiors.

He turned to notify the transport convoy, but hesitated. (End of Chapter)