Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Lin Xiuyi gestured for the staff to wait a moment, and then together with Hattori Heizo, they unlocked the truck bed door.

The carriage door was slowly pushed open, and a faint scent of camphor wood and dust cloth wafted out.

Inside the dimly lit carriage, several huge solid wooden crates were neatly stacked. The seals on the crates were intact, and although there was slight wear on the corners, there were no signs of being pried open or damaged.

Lin Xiuyi, Hattori Heizo, and Ikenami Takeshi, who was in charge of escorting the Terracotta Warriors, all breathed a sigh of relief.

Ikenami Takeshi wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead, his tone filled with relief at surviving a close call: "Thankfully, the Terracotta Army is safe and sound. If anything had gone wrong, we wouldn't have been able to explain ourselves to either country."

The three Chinese staff members immediately stepped forward, carefully lifted the dust cover on the wooden crate, and took out professional testing tools to begin the inspection.

Lin Xiuyi stepped aside, preparing to talk to Hattori Heizo about the thief from earlier.
Unexpectedly, the walkie-talkie in Ikenami Tsuyoshi's hand suddenly rang, and the voice coming from it stunned everyone present.

"Inspector, this is Furukawa. I was knocked unconscious and tied up several days ago..."

The voice was weak and rapid, intermittent, but clear enough.

"what?!"

Takeshi Ikenami gripped the walkie-talkie tightly, his face draining of color instantly, his voice filled with shock and disbelief.

The police officers present also stopped what they were doing and turned to look, their faces filled with astonishment.

Wasn't Officer Furukawa always by Chief Ikenami's side, participating in security work the whole time? How could such a distress signal suddenly come from him?

Lin Xiuyi and Hattori Heizo immediately turned their heads to look at "Officer Furukawa," who had been standing beside them and whose expression was now subtle.

Faced with the sudden focus of everyone's attention, Officer Furukawa showed no panic. Instead, he slowly curled the corners of his lips into a meaningful smile.

"Tsk tsk, it seems this role-playing performance is coming to an end."

"Officer Furukawa" spoke, his voice carrying a calm elegance, even with a hint of mockery.

"I originally wanted to play along with you all a little longer and see if you could spot the flaws sooner, but I was interrupted by the main character's distress signal. It's a bit of a shame."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly pulled a small white ball, about the size of a fist, from his pocket and threw it to the ground without hesitation.

The moment the ball hit the ground, Lin Xiuyi's pupils suddenly contracted.

This scene is all too familiar.

The shape and color of the ball, as well as the throwing motion, were exactly the same as the scene I encountered on the roof of Shinzo Mito's villa not long ago.

"Black Feather Thief!"

The answer instantly popped into Lin Xiuyi's mind.

Sure enough, the next second, the white ball exploded upon hitting the ground, and thick white smoke surged out like a tide, instantly enveloping an area of ​​several meters around it.

The smoke had a faint minty flavor, but it was extremely irritating. Caught off guard, everyone present was immediately choked and coughed repeatedly, raising their hands to cover their mouths and noses. Their vision was also obstructed by the thick smoke, plunging them into a state of confusion.

"Cough cough..."

"careful!"

"Protect cultural relics!"

Caught off guard, the others were immediately choked and coughed repeatedly, causing chaos at the scene.

The Chinese staff instinctively protected the wooden crate, while the police tried to find the imposter in the smoke, but with zero visibility, they were completely unable to move.

Only Lin Xiu was prepared in advance.

The moment Kuroba Toichi threw the white ball, he instinctively covered his mouth and nose with his hand, and at the same time, relying on his memory, he quickly rushed towards the location where "Inspector Furukawa" was standing. However, after vaguely seeing the blurry figure in the smoke, Lin Xiuyi hesitated for a moment and did not reach out to capture him.

Firstly, judging from previous events, Kuroba Toichi is clearly a friend, not an enemy.

At Mito Shinzo's villa, he was also there for a certain artifact. Although his purpose was unclear, he did not make an enemy of Hayashi Shuichi and Tomizawa Chikage.

Although his motives for impersonating Officer Furukawa tonight are questionable, he has indeed been helping Hayashi Hideichi and Hattori Heizo along the way.

Without him, Hayashi Hideichi and Hattori Heizo alone might not have been able to successfully intercept the truck.

Secondly, Kuroba Toichi also knew that he and Tomizawa Chikage were phantom thieves.

This is a situation where both sides have leverage over each other. If Lin Xiuyi exposes or arrests Hei Yu Daoyi now, the other side may also turn around and reveal their identities.

In those few seconds of hesitation, Lin Xiuyi clearly noticed his actions and hesitation.

A soft laugh came from within the smoke.

"Until we meet again, Gentleman Phantom Thief."

A voice rang close to Lin Xiuyi's ear, so soft that only he could hear it.

Then, the figure moved swiftly and disappeared into the thick smoke.

The wind was strong at the port, and the sea breeze blowing in from the sea quickly dispersed the smoke.

When vision cleared, Kuroba Toichi was no longer there, leaving only an empty space and a group of bewildered police officers and Chinese staff.

"hateful!"

Ikenami Takeshi waved his arms angrily.

For him, as the head of the Criminal Investigation Department, to have his subordinate knocked unconscious and kidnapped, with the kidnapper posing as Furukawa and infiltrating the security team, putting on a show right under his nose, was undoubtedly a great humiliation.

"Everyone, scatter immediately! Turn the entire dock inside and out, check every nook and cranny—containers, warehouses, ship gaps—find that bastard impersonating Furukawa no matter what!"

"Yes, sir!" The surrounding officers responded in unison and immediately dispersed to carry out the order.

The scene immediately descended into chaos as police began searching different areas, with urgent instructions and responses coming through the walkie-talkies.

Hattori Heizo frowned upon seeing this.

He was about to say something when Lin Xiuyi gently tugged at his arm.

Hattori Heizo glanced at Hayashi Hideichi with surprise, his eyes full of questions.

With his intelligence, he immediately realized that the smoke had only been there for a short time, and that Kuroba Toichi must not have gone far. The most likely explanation was that he had disguised himself as a police officer or one of the Chinese staff members.

Why didn't you remind Officer Ikenami? Hattori Heizo asked with his eyes.

Lin Xiuyi shook her head slightly, signaling him not to say anything more.

Hattori Heizo hesitated for a moment, but still chose to believe Hayashi Hideichi. He didn't say anything more and just stood silently to the side, observing the chaos at the scene.

After confirming that the terracotta warriors inside the wooden crates were undamaged, the Chinese staff used a transport vehicle to carefully move the crates out of the truck and transport them to the cargo ship docked at the pier.

The ship was ready to set sail, and the Chinese markings on its hull were clearly visible under the lights.

Twenty minutes later, the cargo ship began to cast off its mooring lines.

Accompanied by a deep blast of the ship's horn, the cargo ship slowly departed the dock... (End of Chapter)