Siqiao Middle School, abandoned warehouse.

This warehouse has been abandoned for who knows how long.

The air was thick with the smell of dust and rust, and a few rotten planks were piled up in the corner.

Two windows were broken, and the wind blew in, making the scraps of paper on the ground rustle.

A man wearing a mask was crouching in a corner, holding a knife in one hand and gripping a little girl's arm tightly with the other.

The little girl was none other than Tani Akiko, who had been kidnapped.

She was curled up, her shoulders were shaking, and her eyes were red, clearly she had already cried a lot.

She was so frightened that she didn't dare to breathe, and could only sob softly.

The masked man brandished the knife in front of her, his tone menacing, but his voice was trembling: "Listen! If you behave, I guarantee you'll get home safely."

"But if you dare to play tricks—don't blame me for being impolite!"

Terrified, Tani Akiko nodded repeatedly, tears streaming down her face. "I... I'll be good! Please don't kill me..."

The masked man breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He took out his phone, squatted down in front of her, and asked in a low voice, "What's your home phone number? Tell me!"

Gu Jingzi rattled off a string of numbers, which the masked man typed into his phone. Then, he stared at the screen, looking troubled.

He actually had no experience in kidnapping—this was a completely impromptu idea.

After spending all his last bit of money at the internet cafe, he was desperate and happened to see this lone little girl. On a whim, he followed her.

Now that he's already tied up and has a phone number, he doesn't know how much money to ask for.

If we ask for too much, the other party may not be able to come up with the money in a short time. What if they call the police?

He felt bad about accepting too little...

Kidnapping is a serious crime; if caught, you could spend several years in jail. It's not worth going to jail for a few hundred thousand yen.

He hesitated for a long time before stammering, "Hey... how much money do you have? Ten million... can you come up with that?"

Gu Jingzi sniffed, her voice soft and hoarse: "I can produce that much money... My dad has that much money in his safe..."

Upon hearing this, the masked man's eyes lit up, and a weight was lifted from his heart: "Great! Ten million it is! Your dad wouldn't call the police for a mere thousand..."

He was looking down, preparing to dial a number, when suddenly—a voice came from the warehouse doorway.

"Only this little bit of money?" The voice was lazy, with a hint of disdain. "You're really not doing justice to what you've put in."

"It should cost at least fifty million."

The masked man jolted so hard he almost dropped his phone.

He turned around abruptly and immediately saw a man standing at the warehouse entrance.

The black motorcycle helmet covered his entire face, revealing only a dark visor, making it impossible to see his features.

The man had his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door frame, his posture as casual as if he were strolling through his own backyard.

"Who! Don't come any closer!" The masked man grabbed Gu Jingzi and held her in front of him, a small knife pressed against her neck. His voice was shrill and trembling, "Or I'll kill her!"

Lin Shen looked at the masked man's arm, which was trembling like a leaf, and couldn't help but laugh.

Laughter came from inside the helmet, echoing muffledly: "Me? I'm just a Kamen Rider passing by!"

"I never expected to run into a kidnapping case. Lucky me, count me in."

The masked man paused, wondering if he'd misheard: "What? You want to be charged?"

Lin Shen nodded, his tone matter-of-fact: "That's right. We'll cooperate, and each of us will pay the ransom in half."

The masked man was so angry he almost burst out laughing.

Why should the person he painstakingly kidnapped be split equally with a stranger who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

He gritted his teeth and said, "Why should I split it with you?"

Without saying a word, Lin Shen pulled a black Glock from his jacket, with a silencer screwed onto the muzzle.

He gripped the gun, muzzle pointing downwards, its chin casually hanging at his sides: "Is this enough?"

The masked man's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively shrank back.

But he huddled behind Gu Jingzi, his small frame unable to conceal his broad figure.

One arm and half a shoulder were completely exposed, making for a rather comical pose.

Lin Shen looked at him and found it a little funny—this guy really was an amateur; he could even manage such a pathetic kidnapping.

He raised his hand slightly, his tone softening: "Don't be nervous, I'm not here to ruin your plans."

"I told you, I'm here to join you."

The masked man swallowed hard, stared at the gun for several seconds, and asked in a trembling voice, "You...you don't have a toy gun, do you?"

Lin Shen didn't say anything, but raised his hand and fired two shots at the wall next to him.

puff!puff!

After two muffled thuds, two more bullet holes appeared on the wall, emitting blue smoke, and bits of cement fell down in a flurry.

The masked man jolted as if he'd been electrocuted, and the knife clattered to the ground.

He quickly shoved Gu Jingzi forward, raising his hands high, his expression instantly shifting from fierce to panicked:

"Big brother! Big brother, I was wrong! Here, take the person! I won't tie him up anymore! Please let me go!"

Lin Shen couldn't help but roll his eyes at his cowardly appearance, even through the helmet.

With such a cowardly attitude, why did you even try to learn kidnapping from others?

But he remained patient, lowered the gun barrel slightly, and tried to keep his tone as calm as possible: "I told you, I'm here to cooperate with you, not to steal your business."

"Isn't it much easier for two people to kidnap someone than one?"

The masked man paused for a moment, looked at the knife on the ground, then at the gun in Lin Shen's hand, and then at Gu Jingzi, who had been pushed out and was now squatting on the ground trembling.

He hesitated for a long time, then swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "You...you really aren't here to double-cross me?"

"If I wanted to double-cross you, those two shots would have hit you directly," Lin Shen said irritably. "Get up. Call immediately and demand a ransom of 50 million yen. Have him deliver it within three hours!"

The masked man hesitated for two seconds, but finally picked up his phone and obediently did as he was told.

However, just as the masked man was demanding the ransom, Akiko Tani suddenly shouted, "Daddy! Daddy!! We can see chimneys from the windows here!!"

The masked man was taken aback. He quickly covered Gu Jingzi's mouth, said "I'll give you three hours," and hurriedly hung up the phone.

Then, he looked at the man who claimed to be a Kamen Rider with some panic, fearing that he might fail in his duties and be shot dead.

Lin Shen didn't care about this incident, or rather, he actually wanted it to happen.

If you don't let Akiko Tani reveal the information, how will Conan find this place?

If Conan doesn't come looking for him, then his subsequent plans can't be realized!

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