He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a suspicious figure who was on the phone and followed Kiyoko's steps.

Even more suspicious.

Hotaru was about a half-court distance from the other side. After leaving the stands, he quickened his pace slightly, with Sonoko following closely behind. She said in a tone that said, "I knew it all along":

"Is Mr. Firefly no longer pretending?"

"This is no ordinary matter; it's very dangerous. Are you sure you want to come along?" Ying Sheng asked without turning her head.

"Is there any danger in speeding on a rainy night?" Sonoko asked rhetorically.

Ying Sheng glanced at her, then decided to run through the sparsely populated exit passage of the stadium.

Sonoko gritted her teeth and ran to catch up. Fortunately, she didn't usually act like a rich young lady. Today she was wearing a wide-necked green and white striped T-shirt, denim shorts, and white sneakers, which was much more suitable for sports than Hotaru's outfit.

"Don't even think about getting rid of me!"

Ying Sheng had already run to the end of the exit, and with a quick movement to the right, he disappeared without a trace.

Yuanzi quickened her pace and ran over. Looking around, she saw the glass exterior of the stadium extending into the distance on the right, with pedestrians scattered in the plaza beside it. Further away was a small circle of flower beds, and behind that was a bustling street. There was no sign of Yingsheng.

"That bastard!"

Sonoko stomped her feet in frustration, then gritted her teeth and took out her phone, intending to call Shinichi Kudo.

But she had just unlocked the phone when she stopped, pursed her lips, turned it off, lowered her head dejectedly, and kicked a pebble at her feet.

What does this have to do with her...?

Suddenly, everything went dark.

Sonoko was feeling very upset when a pair of hands gently covered her eyes from behind.

"Guess who I am?"

A familiar whisper reached her ear, and gradually even the warmth around her eyes felt familiar. Sonoko's slightly stiff body immediately returned to normal, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up. However, she immediately suppressed her smile and said with a straight face:

"Is it fun, Mr. Firefly?"

Ying Sheng chuckled, released his grip, and took a step back: "To be honest, it's not bad."

Sonoko turned around, slightly raised her chin, her eyes full of anger: "What exactly did you do all this for? Don't tell me you just wanted to mess with me."

"Didn't I already say I was going to the toilet? I really don't know why you followed me."

Ying Sheng shook his head and walked to the right of the exit: "Fine, follow me if you want, anyway you can't possibly follow me all the way in."

"Hey, what weird stuff are you saying, you pervert?"

Sonoko snorted, but still followed up: "I'm not trying to control you for no reason, it's just that you're really weird, okay? Since you say you're serious about Ran, can't you just calm down and be honest?"

"I've calmed down, okay? It's been so long since I've been involved with any philandering."

"But you still have a lot in reserve."

"...What kind of description is that? Besides, there's not much of that. I'm just a human being after all, with limited energy. There are only 24 hours in a day, and I have to go to class and eat. Ugh, just thinking about it is so troublesome. Why do humans need to eat and sleep?"

"...We've gone off-topic. Besides, you're a master of time management; who knows how many women you've messed with?"

"The Suzuki Group must have investigated me thoroughly by now."

"Heh, you're overthinking it. Who do you think you are?"

"I am... um..."

Hotaru turned his head to look at Sonoko Suzuki, who was half a step behind him: "Are we friends?"

"No, that doesn't count." Sonoko said coldly.

"Oh, so that's a classmate, half-business partner, and mutual friend... Hiss—!"

Ying Sheng gasped, grabbed Sonoko's hand that was pinching his waist, and turned to look.

"What's wrong? Are you getting angry? You said it yourself. I won't object if you want to change your mind, but I'll have to seriously consider the risks of being friends with you. You're being far too capricious."

"Who wants to change their mind? I'm just angry with you. Don't change the subject."

Sonoko let go, glared at him, crossed her arms, and sneered, "What, Mr. Ryuhoshi, you don't even dare to answer my question directly? It does seem like you care about Ran quite a bit, but in other aspects, it's a completely different story."

Ying Sheng rubbed his aching back and curled his lip in disdain: "May I ask who you are and on what grounds you ask this question?"

"I'm Xiaolan's best friend, is that a problem? Even if she can accept a scumbag like you, I still want to help her and make you turn over a new leaf. Is there a problem with that?"

"Of course not, it's simply a great friendship..."

Hotaru suddenly turned around and pulled Sonoko along with him: "Kudo chased after Yukumatsu-san, so if you want to hear some gossip, you'd better play along."

Caught off guard, Sonoko almost fell over. Upon hearing this, she froze in mid-air, then sprang up, her eyes shining as she looked up at Hotaru.

"You came out just to listen to their gossip? You should have said so earlier!"

"Anyway, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you. Besides, this isn't just simple gossip. Didn't you say that Xuesong was using me as a shield? I have to hear what's going on."

Ying Sheng glanced around and pointed to the bench next to the small fountain on the right side of the center of the square.

"Go sit there. Unless they go back immediately, they'll most likely pass by after a little commotion."

It was already 2:30 pm, and the sun was shining brightly. However, the temperature was not as high as yesterday, and it was a pleasant day with a gentle breeze. Sitting there was not considered sunbathing.

Sonoko glanced in that direction and thought that Kiyoko had come out from another exit but ended up here, probably wanting to leave through the main exit of the square and take the shortest route. The area near that fountain was indeed the only way to go.

He followed Hotaru, tilting his head to pretend to admire the scenery, so as not to be seen by Shinichi Kudo and Hotaru, who were traveling at an acute angle to them.

She could already hear Shinichi Kudo's voice, calling out "Kiyoko, Kiyoko," but there was no response from the front.

Honestly, hasn't Kiyoko figured out her own feelings yet? What's she being so awkward about?

Even if she felt that she and Kudo were not a good match, didn't Kudo make it very clear outside the bubble tea shop?

Even a mayfly can live a carefree life in the world.

Oh right, it was this guy who said that.

Thinking of this, Sonoko couldn't help but say, "You're really petty. So what if Kiyoko is using you as a shield? You're not going to retaliate against her, are you? Running over and interfering when she's holding hands with Kudo?"

Ying Sheng, who was also admiring the scenery, pondered for a moment and pointed to a tall tower not far away. Under the bright sun, it shone with a silvery-white light, like a sharp sword piercing the sky. Compared to it, the surrounding buildings looked like dwarfs.

"Is that your Suzuki tower?"

"Yes, that's right. Don't keep changing the subject. Is it that hard to answer?" Sonoko's tone was a little annoyed.

How's the security?

"Why are you asking this? Of course it's top-notch."

"That's it."

Ying Sheng whispered, "Don't you think that if a sniper were to go up there, his sniping perspective would be amazing? At least we'd all be within his sniping range, and he could shoot wherever he wanted."

"........."

Sonoko tilted her head, looking at her strangely: "What kind of things do you boys think about all day long?"

"Is there something wrong with what I said? Is that tower open to tourists?"

Ying Sheng shrugged and continued walking towards the fountain: "As for your question, the answer is simple and clear: I don't want to do anything. As for my feelings for Xiao Lan before that, there's no doubt about it. It's just that she's special, you understand?"

"We'll open it to tourists, but even if security is lax, they absolutely won't allow anyone to bring dangerous things like sniper rifles up there." Sonoko hesitated for a moment. "That affection...can you really not feel it from Ran?"

Without turning his head, Ying Sheng said, "This topic is dangerous; we mustn't continue."

Sonoko didn't ask any more questions, and the two sat down on a bench near the center of the square by the small fountain.

Ying Sheng looked up at the surrounding buildings for a while, and after confirming that there were no snipers in the open, he slightly raised his eyes to look at the drifting clouds on the horizon.

A short while later, Kiyoko Yukimatsu indeed came nearby and sat on a bench on the other side of the fountain.

Shinichi Kudo also came over and asked her a few questions, such as what her previous emails meant and why she wanted to leave. Kiyoko just remained silent.

Shinichi Kudo was silent for a moment, then changed the subject, asking about what happened at the research institute that day and whether Kiyoko was hostile to the institute.

"Does this have anything to do with you?"

Kiyoko finally spoke, her tone indifferent.

Both Shinichi Kudo and Sonoko, who was eavesdropping, felt relieved; as long as someone spoke, it would be a good thing.

Sonoko was still wondering what the research institute was and what the hostility was, when Shinichi Kudo continued:

"Shuiyue's parents are employees of that research institute. They secretly used a new drug under development on you. This drug is very important and has attracted the attention of other forces besides the research institute. You joined forces with them to launch a revenge attack on the research institute, is that right?"

Kiyoko was silent for a moment: "You seem to know quite a lot. Do you still dare to come near me?"

"The research institute is evil, right? Why don't we defeat them together?"

Judging from the direction of the sound, Shinichi Kudo finally sat down on the bench, standing at one end with Kiyoko, his words full of youthful confidence and high spirits.

"Heh, you're being a bit too naive." Kiyoko chuckled, her tone tinged with sarcasm. "Who do you think you are? And who do you think they are? Some low-life thugs? You'll get yourself killed, Kudo-kun."

Shinichi Kudo immediately said, "I don't know, so can you tell me? Besides, we can ask the police for help with such a dangerous organization."

“It’s not that simple. They even have people in the police force. Let me explain it to you in the simplest way possible.” Qingzi paused for a moment. “Be careful not to make any obvious movements. Subtly observe your two o’clock position.”

There's a guy in a blue shirt on the phone. Does he look familiar?

If you weren't fully focused on me from the stands, you might have noticed him. He started walking quickly, as if he had a specific purpose, but now he's slowed down and is swaying around in that area, as if he's just chatting with someone.

Don't you think it's suspicious?

After a moment, having probably finished his subtle observation, Shinichi Kudo said in a rather low voice, "His right hand hardly moves when he walks, but he touches his waist from time to time. He might be carrying a gun. He might really have something going on."

Kiyoko calmly said, "That's right. The henchmen with pistols are just the basic monsters. There are much more troublesome bosses and big bosses to come. Do you understand now?"

Shinichi Kudo's voice grew urgent: "Then what are you going to do?"

"Why do you think I'm here out of nowhere? To wait for you?"

Kiyoko sighed softly, "I don't know who told you that. You really love meddling in other people's business. My companions are on their way and will be here soon. There might be a gunfight here then, so you'd better leave quickly to avoid getting caught in the crossfire."

Hearing this made Sonoko's face flush. She felt really bad; she was the one who was meddling in other people's business.

But who knew that something like this would happen to you, Kiyoko, a gunfight...

This is way beyond the scope of the curriculum!

Huh?

Sonoko suddenly realized something, turned to look at Hotaru, and seeing his calm expression, she became even more certain. She asked in a low voice, "You said there would be danger here, and you just inexplicably mentioned snipers. You wouldn't happen to be Kiyoko's accomplice, would you?"