Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sano took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, then stood the cigarette upright on the ground and retreated about ten meters away.

After thinking for a moment, Sano retreated another ten meters or so.

Feeling that this was an absolutely safe distance, Sano slapped his forehead one last time, silently took out a flip lighter from his pocket, and then started the fire.

"boom--"

The sound was different from the blast wave of an explosion.

What was clearly just a tiny spark from a cigarette butt instantly expanded into a fireball with a diameter of about two or three meters, the billowing heat distorting the air.

However, just as Sano had thought.

Such expansion was ultimately just a flash in the pan.

It's like the ocean waves crashing against the shore, poking their heads out briefly before retreating again.

However, this fleeting moment doesn't seem to be entirely just a flash in the pan.

Sano frowned slightly. The ground where he had left the smoke, as well as the walls next to it and even the ceiling above, were covered with a layer of flames.

The flames flickered and danced with unusual vigor, showing no sign of wanting to go out.

If you look closely, you can even see that the flames are slowly spreading outwards.

...That doesn't make much sense.

Sano rubbed his fingers together.

fire.

It is a very special existence.

This is not a product, but a phenomenon.

Generally, certain conditions must be met to maintain this phenomenon.

Three points: combustible material, oxygen, and temperature, i.e., ignition point.

To put it simply, it's when combustible material turns into combustible gas and then reacts with oxygen, which produces the phenomenon of "flame" or "combustion".

Um... In short, it's like throwing a burning piece of paper on the ground. Basically, once the paper is burned out, the fire is gone, unless there are other flammable materials nearby, or the flame temperature is unusually high.

Ok?

Could it be that the temperature of this flame is so high that it can even burn stones?

Sano hesitated for a moment, put away the flip lighter, tentatively touched the flame on the ground, and then quickly withdrew his hand.

...It's very hot, but I don't know how hot it is.

After rubbing his fingers together and smacking his lips, Sano stopped thinking about it.

Instead, they patiently observed from the sidelines.

About ten minutes later, the flames, which had expanded outwards, stopped rising and gradually weakened, until half an hour later.

It was completely extinguished.

It seems that the temperature of this thing is indeed not high enough to ignite the stone.

Sano looked at the pitch-black ground and walls.

To be honest, Sano couldn't quite understand the situation because it didn't make sense.

But Sano didn't intend to understand.

Finding rationality in the world of Detective Conan is just crazy.

Sano currently only knows that there is another advantage to the comparison between the effects of arson and demolition.

That is, the latter is instantaneous damage, while the former is continuous damage.

Given the changing circumstances, it might also serve to block and besiege.

Hmm, not bad.

It's a shame that it has a cooldown period, which is quite annoying.

Chapter 393, 392: Kurosawa vs. Akai Shuichi

After dusting off his clothes, Sano got up and left, but instead of going home, he took out a small device that resembled a handheld computer, followed the location on it, hailed a taxi, and arrived at an apartment building.

...I wonder if Shuichi Akai lives with that guy named James?

Sano touched the left pistol in his pocket, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

That's right. Just as Sano was rescuing James, or more precisely, after recognizing the other's identity, he casually left a transmitter on him, hoping to find out if he could take this opportunity to locate Shuichi Akai.

Yesterday's exchange went unfinished, and today we just happened to run into each other again.

Sano naturally wanted to continue the exchange.

However, since Sano was identified as Kurosawa at the time, and Conan and other police officers were also present, it was not appropriate to take direct action, so this method was adopted instead.

I hope this time my senior won't be so shy.

...As the previous generation of Black Rye, Shuichi Akai can certainly be considered Sano's senior.

But what can you do when this guy is a traitor who's already been fired?

Therefore, Sano didn't see anything wrong with calling him "senpai" (senior).

But after stepping into the apartment, Sano was in a bit of a dilemma.

The apartment building is quite tall, and the transmitter Sano left behind doesn't seem to be able to generate a complete 3D model like his map location.

As a result, Sano had no idea of ​​James's exact location.

Search upwards, layer by layer?

Suddenly, Sano's gaze shifted and landed on a foreigner who was secretly glancing at him out of the corner of his eye... It's not strange that there are a few foreigners in Tokyo, a major international city, but it just so happens to be here.

Sano simply doesn't believe that this guy has no problems.

Before Sano could decide what to do next, the foreigner had already gotten up and gone upstairs.

This is like leading the way for yourself.

Sano curled the corners of his lips and followed without the slightest hesitation.

Then, Sano entered the encirclement.

There were about a dozen gun barrels pointed at Sano in the stairwells upstairs and downstairs.

James's face was the only one Sano recognized.

"It really was you... Kurosawa, wasn't it?"

James held a gun in one hand and a small transmitter in the other, a hint of curiosity on his face: "While I am very grateful for your help today, isn't it impolite to leave something like this on someone you haven't even exchanged names with on our first meeting?"

...So it was discovered after all?

Sano wasn't too surprised that his little gadgets had been discovered; after all, he was an FBI agent, and his vigilance couldn't be too poor.

Originally, the probability of this was only fifty-fifty.

However, the foreigner below, ostensibly acting as a lookout but actually as bait, confirmed that Sano's transmitter must have been discovered. Furthermore, James was planning to use this opportunity to lure him in, setting up a trap in advance for him to come to him.

As for why Sano knowingly walked into a trap.

Of course, it wasn't because Sano was confident he could crush his opponent... Of course, he was confident, but that wasn't the main reason. The main reason was...

There was absolutely no need to kill them all.

Sano is currently using Kurosawa's identity as a front.

On the surface, he's an innocent, law-abiding citizen, but behind the scenes, he's a chivalrous superhero who just saved James's life, as long as Sano doesn't cause trouble.

What right does the FBI have to take action against itself?

The reason Sano chose to use Kurosawa's pseudonym was not only to avoid trouble, but more importantly, because using any other pseudonym would be unreasonable.

Even if it's a rye vest, even if Sano acts all mysterious and unpredictable.

The transmitter eventually exists.

If left unchecked, James's recollection of today's anomalies could very well lead Shuichi Akai to discover that Kuroi and Kurosawa are in cahoots.

If Sano were to silence all the FBI agents, the problem would be solved.

But what if we let one escape? Or what if there's some fish that slipped through the net and isn't here?

Caution is the best policy.

This was the first rule Gin taught Sano.

Moreover, there's not much difference between using the two aliases, Kurosawa and Rye.

Sano isn't saying he absolutely has to kill Shuichi Akai, otherwise he'll feel uncomfortable. He's not some kind of murderous maniac, so why is he always fighting and killing?

"Akai Shuichi isn't there?"

Sano was too lazy to waste time arguing with James and went straight to the point, which made the other man raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"What, you're not here for me?"

Sano raised an eyebrow and smiled, asking, "Who are you?"

James: "..."

Ugh, this person is so annoying.

"What do you need me for?"

Before James could speak again, Shuichi Akai stepped out from the shadows and stared intently at Sano.

Shuichi Akai remembered this man. Including today's meeting, this should be the third time the two had met. But the previous two times were more like he had simply seen the other person than met him.

Not to mention anything else, the two sides didn't even exchange a single word.

Therefore, Shuichi Akai really didn't understand why the other party would want to contact him, especially in such an illogical way.

Since he knew that following James would lead him to himself, he should also know that he was an FBI agent, right?

A little troublesome.