Ms. Moriarty wants to save Beika Town today too.

Xiao Ai looked over Winnet's chin and bit her lip.

Winnett put Ai down.

Xiao Ai straightened her wrinkled clothes.

Although I don't hate it, it's a bit embarrassing to keep maintaining that posture, and I'll probably be teased by Kudo afterwards.

Moreover, when Winnett threw the parachute just now, it was somewhat exaggerated, as if a strong man was holding her with one hand, and the process of throwing her had to twist her body, and it hit her butt hard.

"Conan, Sonoko, Miss Winnet, and Ai!"

The frightened Xiaolan already had tears in her eyes.

"Let's go back to the villa area first. We have to inform others if something like this happens." Winnet looked around and said, "It seems that the man is very familiar with the forest environment. It's not safe to stay here."

Although she said this, Winnet hoped that the other party would show up on their own initiative. As long as they met her head-on, the matter would end quickly. Although she could attack the other party unexpectedly just now, she could not guarantee Xiaolan's safety, so she had to alert the other party and make him look back.

"Garden!"

The trembling Xiaolan got up and crawled into Yuanzi's arms.

Conan was thinking to himself:

Logically speaking, Xiaolan should have snuggled into his arms at this time.

Winnett, who has almost etched reading steps into her instinct, has a general grasp of the direction, stride and frequency of her movements. She and Ai walk in the front, preparing to return the same way.

"Don't you think that bandage freak gave up pretty quickly?"

While Conan and Sonoko were comforting Xiaolan, Ai whispered to Winnet.

"He probably didn't have the confidence to face us at the same time... The gap on the ground means he missed when attacking Xiaolan. This person probably didn't receive any training and was just swinging his weapon casually like an amateur."

"So, it has nothing to do with...?"

"I will protect you. Don't worry, I know their practices best."

"It's really reassuring."

Xiao Ai stretched out her tone a little and walked in front of Winnet.

When they returned to the villa, everyone else was gathered at the door. Ayako explained the reason and Ota told them what happened.

"I heard that there was a dangerous person in the villa. What's going on?"

Ayako looked straight at Sonoko with a serious face.

"That person first broke into the villa and attacked the little guy, and then fled to the forest and attacked Xiaolan."

"how come……"

"Yes, he attacked Xiaolan in the woods. Brother Ota, didn't you see it? Aren't you all in the woods?"

Sonoko continued to explain, and everyone listened to her description and confirmed it with each other's eyes.

"I didn't see her. Before you found me, I had already started looking for Xiaolan in the woods, but I didn't see the dangerous person you mentioned."

Ota turned his gaze to Kadoya and threw the topic to him.

"We didn't see it at all, did we, Chikako?"

The two men turned their attention to Chikako Ikeda.

Novel 0 ○ ① ㈧

"What do you mean by we? How would I know where you ran off to..."

Ikeda looked away.

"Didn't I come back to get an umbrella because I saw it was going to rain?"

Hiroki Kadaya asked back.

"You're not afraid of thunder so you hide, are you?"

"Chikako!"

Ikeda's description made the good-tempered Kakutani angry and he gritted his teeth.

"doing what?"

Ikeda stared at Kakutani in the same unyielding manner.

"Okay, okay, stop talking..."

Ayako played the role of peacemaker again.

"They're almost done."

While watching Kadoya and Ikeda bickering, Ohta muttered something sarcastic.

…So there is such a relationship.

Winnet and the others were a little surprised.

Sonoko came up to Ayako and asked, "Sister, have you seen that man? Maybe he ran towards the villa again."

"Really? I didn't notice."

Ayako touched her cheek, looking a little troubled. He looked at Takahashi, "What about you, Takahashi?"

"I was up there repairing the roof just now, so I didn't see anyone wrapped in bandages. But when I came to the drawbridge of the villa, I did see a man dressed very strangely and acting sneakily... Although I didn't see his face clearly, he was wearing a black cloak and a black tulip-shaped hat on his head."

Xiaolan and Conan exchanged glances.

Winnet and Xiao Ai also exchanged glances with each other in tacit understanding.

"That's right, the person who attacked me was the one you saw on the suspension bridge, right, Ai?"

"Yeah, the same guy who attacked me."

Xiao Ai nodded to confirm what Xiao Lan said.

"I also saw the man you are talking about when I first arrived at the villa."

"Me too. At that time I thought it was someone who lived nearby..."

Kakutani and Ota said in unison.

"That's absolutely impossible. There are two or three single-family houses in this area after crossing the suspension bridge. You have to climb over the mountain to find houses in Ogidani."

Ayako panicked and denied Kakutani's statement.

"So, who is that man?"

Ota couldn't help but reveal a serious expression.

"I think we should call the police first."

Kakutani suggested.

There was no better way at this time, so Winnett held Ai's hand and waited quietly.

Ayako nodded, and hurried to the telephone table next to the stairs, and dialed the police number. But after several consecutive calls, there was no response.

"Can't get through..."

"You said the phone call couldn't get through?"

"Yeah, we can still call during the day." Ayako put down the phone, "Could it be that the thunder just now cut off the phone line?"

As soon as Ayako finished speaking, Takahashi beside her suddenly shouted.

"It must be, it must be the man in the bandages! He cut it off, it must be him!"

While screaming, Takahashi ran towards the exit of the villa.

Worried and panicked, the others chased him out of the villa.

"Sorry, I think I was right. A good vacation turned into Blizzard Mountain mode."

After everyone chased out, Xiao Ai pulled Winnet's clothes and apologized reluctantly.

"This isn't your fault, Ai."

Winnet said comfortingly, then slowly pushed Ai out of the living room, took an umbrella, and followed the pace of the main group.

When they went out, they heard Takahashi's panicked cry and several people stopped in front of the suspension bridge.

Winette held an umbrella to protect Ai, caught up with Ayako, and stopped in front of the human wall. Ayako was asking about the whole story.

"The suspension bridge! The suspension bridge has fallen down!"

Kakutani explained in panic.

"It must have fallen down by itself. It was very old to begin with."

Ota found a way to explain it.

But his inference was overturned by Kudo Shinichi in the form of a little devil.

"You are wrong. This suspension bridge was cut by someone." He pointed to the wedge of the suspension bridge and said, "If you don't believe it, look for yourself at the pillar that is tied to the suspension bridge."

The pillars were covered with dense hacking marks.

……

271 Childhood Shadow

"How could it be like this? It's become so tattered."

"Someone cut it with a knife."

"But who would do that?"

Ayako looked uneasy.

"It must be him, he must have done this!"

Takahashi screamed in panic again and his body slowly moved backwards.

"Are you done yet? This bandage freak thing is just nonsense!" Ikeda Chikako denied loudly, "Attacking Xiaolan in the woods, cutting the telephone lines, and chopping down the suspension bridge were all just to scare us."

"If a group of us get scared like this, wouldn't that be playing into his hands?"

Ikeda showed a fearless look, snorted loudly, and went into the villa without looking back.

Ayako called her name quietly, then looked at the people around her, and then followed Ikeda to the direction of the villa. Conan seemed to be interested in the marks of the chopping, but he did not stay for long.

Winnett felt that there was no point in worrying. It might not be a bad thing to be as free and easy as Chikako. As long as she stayed by Ai's side, no accidents would happen. And judging from the way the bandage monster acted, he didn't have any long-range weapons like guns.

"Since he cut off the drawbridge, he doesn't want us to leave the villa. There's a high chance he will sneak into the house and attack us."

Xiao Ai, who fell behind, discussed things quietly with Winnet.

"We can only delay for one night at most. Although the suspension bridge has been cut, this is not the only way out. When it's daytime, we can try to get from the woods to the road. Even if that bandaged weirdo attacks again, he can't hurt us."

Winnett asserted that she had no reason to worry.

"But what if he didn't attack us? Even if it's you, you can't protect everyone, right?"

Xiao Ai crossed her arms and looked at the backs of Xiaolan, Conan and the others.

"Does Ai want to protect them?"

"Well, as long as the target is not someone related to me, then it doesn't matter."

Feeling Winnet's gaze, Ai closed her eyes and pretended not to care.

"It's not a bad thing to be kind. Most people don't want anything dangerous to happen to them. So, there's no need to force yourself to say this."

"Don't be so preachy. I'm not a kind person."

Xiao Ai retorted somewhat unhappily.

"Maybe the bandaged man is targeting someone else. He attacked you and Xiaolan because he wanted people to think he was a murderer who killed people without distinction."

Winnet changed the subject.

"...In that case, wouldn't you, who looks disabled, be a better target?"

"Uh."

Ai's words left Winnet with no way to refute.

"Now that you mention it, I remember that several people have seen this bandaged man, right? On the way to the villa, before the suspension bridge. If there were only one or two people who happened to see him, there would be at most four sightings, including you. It's as if he showed up in front of us on purpose."