Conan, I'm an actor

"Are these members of the explosive ordnance disposal team?" Inspector Megure looked at Takagi beside him.

"I don't know either..." Takagi said, looking at the parked car with some doubt. "There are no familiar faces, but the equipment is all standard. They should be from the explosive ordnance disposal team."

Chapter 247 A Pretense Becomes Real

Inspector Megure rolled his eyes at Takagi, thinking, "How can you make such a judgment?" He then went up and began questioning the people directly.

The person on the other end clearly didn't want to answer his question; he simply flashed his badge and led his men inside. Inspector Megure recognized them from their badges; however, their attitude infuriated him.

“This must be Inspector Megure from the First Investigation Division.” Kazama got out of the driver’s seat. “We heard about a serious crime that happened here, so we came to assist.”

"Assist?" Inspector Megure looked around. "Assist whom?"

"Explosives disposal team."

"But..." Megure wanted to say—the explosives disposal team hasn't arrived, so who are you going to assist?

But considering the extreme danger of the bombs inside, and the fact that dealing with them sooner would reduce the risk, he quickly chose to keep quiet.

After arriving at the door, Kazama sent a text message to indicate that he was ready.

Not long after, an explosion occurred on the 8th floor. Soon, a person wearing a bomb suit and a bomb helmet was carried out, and the lining of the bomb suit was visible.

Before Megure could even ask a question, his phone rang again.

"Do not attempt to defuse the bomb; this is just a warning." A voice, clearly altered, rang out.

"Wait, don't hang up yet. We've already prepared the money. How do we pay?" Shinjo asked before Inspector Megure could speak.

"who are you?"

“I am the director of this hospital, so how will you pay the ransom?” Shinjo asked expressionlessly.

Didn't that idiot cop tell you?

"Did you even tell me how to pay? You bastard!" Megure was truly angry this time, trembling all over. If Takagi hadn't been holding him up, he probably would have had an online battle with the thugs.

"Give me your phone number, I'll give you my account number, and you can pay the ransom," the person on the other end of the phone said menacingly.

Xincheng nodded and then gave his phone number. Soon after, he received a text message.

Rena Mizunashi witnessed all of this. Just moments ago, she had learned the reason for the incident from Vodka. However, for some reason, she felt that something was amiss; the robbers didn't seem to be arranged by the police, but rather were genuine robbers.

Thinking of this, she said to the photographer, "Follow them."

"With whom?" the photographer asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Of course it’s the hospital director,” Rena Mizunashi said. “Interviewing the victim would be big news.”

The photographer nodded, then stepped on the gas and followed the car from Xincheng ahead.

On the car in front

“Mr. Shinjo, it looks like someone is following us,” Director Ochiai said, looking at the vehicle in the rearview mirror. “It looks like a TV station’s interview vehicle.”

Shinjo glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Rena Mizunashi in the other car. He shook his head. "No need. Those are people from the organization. They're here to monitor us."

"That organization again?" Ochiai shuddered. "Should we notify the others?"

“There’s no need for that right now. Today’s show is just for them.” Xincheng closed his eyes. “If we let them come and disrupt this good show, then there’ll be nothing to see.”

The hospital scene was in complete chaos.

"What happened? How could there be casualties?" Matsuda grabbed Kazama by the collar and asked, "Didn't I tell you not to make a move?"

His mind was a complete mess. He had clearly only planted three bombs, and the detonators for the bombs had already been given to the dean named Cheng Shi. There shouldn't have been any accidental detonation.

"This matter..." Kazama's eyes flickered for a moment before he finally spoke, "It was an arrangement from above."

Hearing Kazama's words, Matsuda Jinpei felt slightly relieved. He understood Zero's personality; since it was his arrangement, everything would be fine. As for the person carried out, it was likely Morofushi Kagemitsu.

But when I last saw Jingguang, he had a lot of instruments attached to his body. Is it really okay to carry him out like this?

His teammates didn't give him time to think, urging him to get to the hospital quickly and find a way to defuse the bomb.

He was stunned when he entered the hospital, because some of those "fake" bombs had actually turned into real ones.

His colleague, upon seeing so many bombs inside the hospital, was completely stunned. He immediately notified the patients inside to speed up the transfer and withdrew.

Xincheng went to the bank and transferred the prepared "ransom" into a designated account. After circulating for a while, the money would return to his account; at most, he would lose a small amount.

After he completed the transfer, Inspector Megure called.

"Brother Shinjo, there's something I need to discuss with you," Inspector Megure said somewhat hesitantly. "After everyone in the hospital is evacuated, is it possible to detonate the explosives on-site, minimizing the damage..."

"I've already paid the ransom, and you're telling me you want to blow up the hospital?" Xincheng's tone suddenly rose.

"There are just too many bombs in the hospital," Inspector Megure said, somewhat helplessly.

He was also completely bewildered when he saw the punctuation map of the explosives disposal team. There were 11 bombs in half a floor. Although some of them were fake, they were still deadly enough.

According to their estimates, if all the bombs on the first floor exploded, the entire building would collapse, not to mention there were still bombs on the upper floors.

"Then tear it down! If it can't be torn down in one day, then three days; if it can't be torn down in three days, then a week, until it's completely gone," Xincheng said impatiently. "If these guys don't dare to tear it down, then I'll do it!"

"Brother Shinjo, why are you doing this? Someone will cover the losses, why take this risk?" Inspector Megure said with a wry smile.

"I'll tell you when I get there," Xincheng said fiercely.

Just then, he bumped into Rena Mizunashi, who was followed by a photographer.

"Get lost, I'm not in the mood for an interview right now," Shinjo said bluntly, while subtly giving Rena Mizunashi a wink.

In the meeting room of the Metropolitan Police Department

Kuroda Hyoue was also a bit of a headache looking at the noisy scene below the stage. He did not expect Furuya Rei to cause such a big commotion.

Now, the plan has been leaked, and the enemy has used it against them. The fake bombs that were supposed to be placed on site have turned into real bombs. Not only have they failed to catch the perpetrators, but they've also lost a hospital.

"Enough. Now is not the time to shirk responsibility." Kuroda Hyōe looked at Furuya Rei below. "Rei, what do you suggest we do now?"

"The most urgent task is to fool the Metropolitan Police Department first," Amuro Tooru said. "The Metropolitan Police Department's involvement will increase the risk of leaks and cause the situation to get out of control."

Chapter 248 Ruins After the Smoke of War

Kuroda Hyōe looked at his capable subordinate with a complicated expression. This man was practically saying outright—there was an undercover agent in the Metropolitan Police Department.

The other officials looked at Furuya Rei with unfriendly eyes; his words were grating to their ears.

However, they couldn't blame Furuya Rei; he was the one who submitted the plan, a perfect plan without any flaws. As the initiator of the plan, he couldn't have leaked it, so the leak must have occurred during the review process, making everyone who handled the document a suspect.

Just then, Kuroda received a phone call. His expression grew increasingly grim, and his gaze toward his subordinates became extremely hostile. He had no idea that his men had committed so many disgraceful acts.

While everyone was still confused, the conference room door was opened, and several military police rushed in and began arresting people.

Kuroda Hyōe remained silent, as if he hadn't seen anything.

Rei Furuya sighed. In order to rescue Kagemitsu, he had troubled these people to retire early. The things that were exposed were all minor and insignificant; even the most serious ones would at most result in a few months in jail.

Just then, his phone vibrated. Looking at the message Matsuda Jinpei had sent him, he couldn't help but frown, as if something unexpected had happened.

A dozen minutes later

Xincheng arrived at his own hospital, where most of the patients had already been evacuated, and the remaining critically ill patients were being effectively transferred.

Over at the bomb disposal team's location, a group of people were gathered around a vehicle discussing something. On the hood of the vehicle was a floor plan of the hospital's first floor, marked with many red dots, each representing a bomb.

Matsuda Jinpei also noticed Shinjo approaching, said something to his colleague, and then came over.

“We don’t know how many of the fake ones were replaced with real ones,” Matsuda said in a low voice. “We don’t know how many bombs are inside now. This hospital…”

This hospital is so big, it should make a lot of money every year. But now, because of saving Jingguang... he still doesn't understand where things went wrong and why there was a mistake.

"Let it explode then." Shinjo stretched his neck and said something that Matsuda hadn't expected.

"What?" Matsuda was taken aback.

"Go ahead and blow it up. Remember to use plenty of explosives. Blow up that ward too, and don't leave any traces," Xincheng said meaningfully. "Make a big splash, don't hold back, or you'll give away a clue."

“I understand.” Matsuda nodded.

Xincheng had made himself so clear, and he wasn't stupid; he naturally understood what Xincheng meant.

At this moment, Rena Mizunashi found a secluded corner, dialed Vodka's number, and began to report the situation to him.

After she finished her report, she realized that someone had appeared behind her without her noticing. Just as she was about to draw her gun, she found a knife held to her neck.

“We’re all in this together, it’s not right to fight like this.” Shinjo stared at the pistol in Mizunashi Rena’s hand and said, “Should I call you Kir, or Mizunashi Rena, or—Hondo Emi?”

"Whatever, but who is Hondo Eikai?" Rena Mizunashi said, forcing herself to speak.

Those bombs inside were most likely tampered with by him, just to erase any trace of Jing Guang's existence.

Matsuda relayed Shinjo's request, and the bomb disposal team on the other side visibly breathed a sigh of relief. If the other side had insisted that they defuse the bomb, they would have had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it, and they didn't know if anyone would die.

Four hours later

The patients inside were gradually evacuated, and the demolition team began to set up explosives. After waiting for another two hours, a loud explosion rang out, and the entire hospital was reduced to ruins.

Looking at the hospital, now a ruin, Xincheng breathed a sigh of relief, finally eliminating this potential threat.

“I thought it was you, a CIA agent.” Shinjo watched as Rena Mizunashi put away her gun and sheathed her sword. “Looks like my intelligence was wrong. Since it’s not you, I’ll go kill that kid named Eisuke Hondo and force her out.”

"Cognac, what brings you here?" Rena Mizunashi stared at the man in front of her, suppressing her urge to kill him, and asked in a low voice.

"Let me think about it," Shinjo said, stroking his chin. "I originally wanted to recruit you, since we're both undercover agents, and I was hoping we could share some funding. But since you're not Hondo Eikai, then I'm sorry, I'll have to see you off."

As he spoke, he stepped aside, and a package appeared on the ground. There was a timer at the opening of the package, and the time on it was counting down.

Rena Mizunashi's mind started racing as she tried to think of a way to get Shinjo to let her go.

This guy is notoriously crazy. Trying to intimidate Gin is definitely not going to work. Let alone Gin, it's questionable whether this guy would even give the boss any face.

Thinking about this, she suddenly realized that she seemed to have no other way to go but to go along with this madman in front of her.

"Fine, you win," Rena Mizunashi said helplessly. "But can you tell me where you got this information from?"

“I have a pretty good hacker on my side. I can access information about all the major organizations in the world, as long as it’s stored on electronic devices and has access to the internet,” Shinjo shrugged.

“These networks are all internal networks,” Rena Mizunashi said, staring at Shinjo. “You’re not telling the truth.”

"You can plant spies in various organizations, so why can't I? Besides, I've already said that I'm only giving you this opportunity because we're both undercover agents. You don't think that there's no cooperation between the various organizations, do you?"

Rena Mizunashi's face twitched slightly. Her success as a TV host was partly due to the organization's efforts, but also because the censorship authorities turned a blind eye. Now she had to pay the price for those past conveniences.