Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 275 Rei Furuya's Determination
"Chiba?"

Sato and his group, who were anxiously waiting on the ground, had not yet received a reply from Gao Mo when they encountered Chiba, who had taken off his hood and was panting heavily.

"How will you be here?"

"I……"

Chiba's face looked even more bitter.

"It seems like Officer Matsuda approached those people and then rescued me amidst the chaos?"

"Officer Matsuda? What nonsense are you talking about?" Sato frowned at Chiba's disheveled face, noticing Chiba's reddened eyes. "Those guys didn't torture you, did they?"

“No, not at all,” Chiba said, his expression freezing as he caught sight of Takagi dressed as Matsuda Jinpei behind Sato. He was completely bewildered. “What’s going on? Another Matsuda officer has appeared? Am I dead? But Officer Sato…”

"What, another Officer Matsuda?"

Sato and his group increasingly felt that Chiba was talking nonsense.

"Mr. Kindaichi went to negotiate with those people; he must have saved you."

"Kkindaichi?"

“I didn’t save him,” Gao Mo followed back to the park. “It’s possible that those people got the information they wanted and released Officer Chiba while they were retreating.”

"They retreated?" Takagi grasped the crucial information, momentarily stunned, and removed the sunglasses he used to disguise himself as Matsuda Jinpei. "What do I do now?"

"What are you still thinking about?" Sato said irritably, pulling Takagi over. "Chiba has already been released, so we don't need you anymore."

"Yeah, that's true..."

Chiba's mind was a bit of a mess, but she only came to her senses when she saw Takagi continue taking off the wig: "It really was Officer Matsuda who saved me, it was Officer Shinichi Matsuda, he gave me the pumpkin headgear and then..."

Chiba choked up again halfway through her sentence.

"Perhaps I'm mistaken, because if it were Officer Matsuda, he might..."

"Officer Matsuda?" Sato asked, looking at the hood that Chiba was holding in his arms.

If it's Shinichi Matsuda, then perhaps Chiba wasn't lying.

"But where will those guys go?" Takagi asked worriedly. "What exactly are they planning to do?"

"I don't know about the others, but their leader seems like a decent person and shouldn't cause any trouble."

Gao Mo looked at the buildings surrounding the Hikarie building.

Those people from the NGOs should now be scattered in the surrounding buildings; otherwise, a group of foreigners gathered together would be too conspicuous.

The police will be guarding the building entrance for tonight's wedding. How will those people get in?
Should we force our way in?
Where would Pramie plant the bomb?

“Happy Halloween!”

After separating from Sato and the others, Gao Mo walked across the street alone and unknowingly walked to the intersection, where he was completely surrounded by a lively crowd.

Before nightfall, the streets were already packed with people, a dense crowd of people, all dressed up as "demons and monsters".

As for vehicles, they were completely invisible; traffic control had been in place since morning.

Police were conducting checks at various intersections and inside the station—which led him to conclude that the civilian group was hiding in the underground reservoir.

The crucial entrance to the commercial building was specially equipped with security checks. After ensuring Chiba's safety, Inspector Megure didn't even bother to pursue Elena and her group, and went straight to the building's entrance despite being heavily pregnant.

After learning that the threatening letter was related to Pramiya, the original drills were no longer very effective. However, with the emergence of civilian organizations targeting Pramiya, it has become necessary to allocate security to prevent a group of crazy people seeking revenge against Pramiya from causing trouble.

"Ok?"

Wait a minute, why Halloween?

Gao Mo paused, standing in the middle of the intersection, as images of the people flashed through his mind.

From Inspector Megure and his team in the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division, to the Public Security Bureau group led by Rei Furuya, and the civilian organization led by Elena, who was brought to Tokyo by Pramie.

Finally, there's Superintendent Tsutomu Muranaka, the main character of the wedding...

The man with the mustache said, "The other party is a fan of both me and Kindaichi, so they specially invited us."

Ai: "Halloween... a wedding... something big must be happening..."

Megure: "They're probably trying to provoke us, the police..."

Why choose this time to get married? Is Halloween a suitable time to get married?

"It's probably because the bride is a foreigner. That guy from the village seems to have met his lover at the hospital, and now he's become so gentle, he doesn't look like he used to be at all."

Conan: "The explosive device was hidden in the laptop that man was holding..."

Rei Furuya: "I was injured when the bomber attacked me with a grenade. To save me, Morofushi shot him in the right arm. That guy should still have a bullet hole in his right shoulder."

The man with the mustache said, "Both of the people getting married this time are our fans... They said they wanted to meet us in advance and discuss the wedding arrangements for tomorrow."

Tsutomu Muraka: "When I was hospitalized with a shoulder injury, I happened to find her medical card. After getting to know her, I felt very relaxed and comfortable with her... Perhaps this was a fateful encounter?"

Gao Mo walked slowly among the celebrating crowd, as if he were separated from the world.

The other party has set the date and location for the wedding and will not allow any changes. The threatening letter also specifically warned that the plan can only take place on Halloween...

Gao Mo's gaze swept across the crowded people, then he suddenly looked up at the pumpkin lantern hanging overhead.

The setup also started in the morning and was spread almost throughout the entire central area of ​​Shibuya.

“These pumpkin lanterns…”

Gao Mo's expression changed slightly, and the Shibuya traffic control map reappeared in his mind, his mental palace quickly simulating the terrain.

Shibuya's unique drainage system causes rainwater to converge in the center, and if two liquids are involved, they can be combined in this way...

That guy didn't plant bombs inside the commercial building; instead, he targeted the entire block, aiming to destroy Shibuya center in one fell swoop and simultaneously exact revenge on the police, all in an effort to eliminate civilian organizations targeting him. And Pramia himself…

Gao Mo looked solemnly towards the top of the commercial building.

Helipad.

The explosion occurred after Pramiya left by helicopter, which was after the wedding in the village.

The threat of explosions emanating from the entire neighborhood instantly overwhelmed Gao Mo.

Even though she knew the super bomb was still safe and that even if it was activated early, there would still be time to escape before the two liquids mixed with the terrain, her body still felt a chill.

I don't know how Pramia did it. If these pumpkin lanterns contained liquid bombs, the explosive power would be unimaginable.

"call!"

The people around Gao Mo seemed to have vanished, and the entire world was enveloped in pink and purple flames.

strangeness.

If all of this was a trap set by Pramia, then the other party should have appeared in his sight by now.

If Pramiya were alone, he would definitely be involved, whether for intelligence gathering or anything else. He couldn't coordinate the whole situation from the shadows, as there are too many people involved.

If he were Pramia, he would certainly be in a key position.

Moreover, according to Shiratori, when Inspector Megure was preparing to postpone the wedding, the prisoner immediately sent a message demanding that the wedding proceed as planned.

The other party got the information too quickly, it was like they were watching the police.

Were you impersonating someone else?
Gao Mo's mental clues were reviewed and reassembled once again, finally settling on a file photo—

Christine, the fiancée of Nobu in the village.

That's it!

Gao Mo closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his whole body seemed to be glowing.

He kept analyzing the people who appeared in front of him, but overlooked the one who didn't appear.

From the moment Nu met this woman at the hospital, everything was part of her plan.

If you feel particularly comfortable with someone, it might not be because you get along well or are destined to be together, but rather because that person has very high emotional intelligence and ulterior motives.

What a formidable assassin.

It's incredible that they could achieve this level of skill.

……

Public Security Underground Shelter.

Rei Furuya also obtained the information from the notes held by the NGOs.

He knew what the Russian words for "bullet" and "shoulder" meant, but what was important was the traffic control map next to it. The moment he saw it, Furuya Rei got goosebumps all over his body.

Unlike Gao Mo, he was more familiar with Pramia and had experienced more large-scale criminal incidents, so he knew how terrifying these people were.

"Does that guy want to blow up the whole of Shibuya? If the target is just the wedding venue, there's no need to draw this!"

"Mr. Furuya!" Yuya Kazami hurriedly stopped Rei Furuya, who had left the glass room without permission. "You can't come out yet..."

"We can't wait any longer!"

Rei Furuya gritted his teeth and paced back and forth.

"He wants to use me to lure out Morofushi for revenge, so I'll lure him out first. If I wait until night, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

“But you are now…” Kazami Yuya lowered his head in self-reproach, “I will try to find other bomb disposal experts, they can definitely remove it!”

“It’s no use,” Furuya Rei said, becoming even calmer in his desperation. “Unlike the bomb Matsuda defused three years ago, the collar bomb is designed with a dismantling mechanism. If you touch it, the two liquids will react. If I don’t find a neutralizer first, I will be blown up.”

Just like what happened at another shelter three years ago, even the defused bombs exploded…

At this moment, Furuya Rei deeply understood the feelings of his friend Matsuda in his final moments.

Even Matsuda was willing to sacrifice himself to save the majority, let alone him.

Why did you join the police force, which has a terrible reputation?
Isn't it all about realizing one's ideals?
He considered this country his lover, deeply loved it, and could not stand by and watch the Pramiya bombing plan go through.

"I'd rather die a meaningful death than hide in a place like this."

Rei Furuya patted his subordinate on the shoulder.

"This is my own initiative, so you shouldn't go."

"Mr. Fangtani!"

Kazami glanced at his vibrating phone and suddenly his face lit up with joy.

"Found her! That Kindaichi detective sent a message saying that Pramia might be the bride, and he's looking for evidence..."

"The bride, Christine? What a surprise."

Rei Furuya paused slightly, his grave expression softening a little.

"I knew I hadn't misjudged Kindaichi. He's really amazing. He identified the suspect so quickly... But now is not the time to alert him. Tell him not to make any rash moves. Leave the rest to me. It would be terrible if Pramia detonated the bomb."

"Does Mr. Furuya still intend to take action?" Kazami asked anxiously.

“Yes,” Furuya Rei said calmly, “This news is just in time. We don’t need any evidence; I’ll go and probe him myself! If we’re lucky, we might be able to uncover his trump card… By the way, make preparations for the evacuation of the Halloween event site. Try to minimize the gathering of people without attracting attention!”

(End of this chapter)