Isn't it very scientific to use the Death Note to kill people?

Xiaolan snapped back to reality, instinctively raising her hand to cover her mouth, forcing herself to swallow back the gasp and sob that almost escaped her lips. She lowered her head, her long bangs falling to cover her eyes that instantly filled with tears and her pale face, her shoulders trembling slightly uncontrollably.

"I...I'm fine..." Her voice was barely audible, filled with undisguised sobs and immense panic, "It's just...it was so sudden, Jia Shu-ge...how could he..."

Kogoro Mouri was still furious in front of the TV, yelling at the police officers on the screen: "A bunch of useless idiots! You can't solve the case, so you just grab some random detective to take the blame?! That kid Itsuki has done so much for you, how could he possibly be involved in some kind of bombing! I'm going to make a phone call! I'm going to ask Inspector Megure what's going on!"

He turned around angrily to look for his phone.

Conan walked over to Ran, gently tugged at her sleeve, looked up at her, and said in a reassuring tone, "Ran-neechan, don't worry. Uncle Mori is right. There must be a mistake. Yoshiki-nii is so smart. The police must have made a mistake with the evidence. They'll clarify things soon."

He offered these words of comfort, but his doubts grew stronger. The police's direct intervention, arresting him on charges of bombing… this was far more than a simple "mistake." Moreover, Lin Jiashu's reaction to the camera just now was far too calm, so calm… as if he had expected it?

Ran nodded vigorously upon hearing Conan's words, but still dared not look up. She responded with difficulty in a heavily nasal voice, "Um... um... it must be, it must be a mistake..."

On television, the news continued, showing footage of Lin Jiashu being escorted into a police car.

The camera finally focuses on the moment he glances at the camera, seemingly unintentionally, before getting into the car.

Xiaolan's heart clenched suddenly, and she could barely breathe.

Conan, meanwhile, stared at the frozen image, a sharp white light flashing across his glasses.

That look in his eyes... could it be that he wanted to convey some message?

"Uncle Mori, Sister Ran,"

Conan pushed up his glasses. "We can't just wait around. Yoshiki would never do something like that. There must be some misunderstanding, or maybe it's a setup!"

He looked up at Ran, who was still pale and absent-minded, and Kogoro Mouri, who was pacing anxiously and cursing: "I want to go to Yoshiki's office. Maybe he left some clues, or some information that the police overlooked!"

This suggestion was like a lifeline, instantly grabbing Xiaolan's heart. She abruptly raised her head, a faint glimmer of hope igniting in her eyes: "Yes...yes! Jia Shu is so smart, maybe..."

"Hmph! That kid's office must have been ransacked by those police guys long ago!" Kogoro Mouri said, but he stopped in his tracks. "But... it's good to go and take a look! What if those idiots missed something? I want to see what they have to do with arresting people!"

Opinions were quickly reached.

The three set off immediately, with Kogoro Mouri even disregarding the cost and calling a taxi.

During the ride, Xiaolan's phone kept ringing.

She didn't unlock her phone and only saw from the glowing screen that it was a message from Sonoko, but now... she wasn't in the mood to look at it.

The three rushed to the Kindaichi Detective Agency and saw that the lights were still on. Kogoro Mouri immediately went up and rang the doorbell.

A moment later, the door was opened a crack from the inside, revealing Nanatsuko Koshimizu's face, which was clearly filled with worry.

She wasn't surprised to see the three people at the door, especially Ran with red eyes and Kogoro Mouri with an angry expression; she simply stepped aside silently.

"You...you saw the news too?"

The three entered the office.

The Kindaichi Office was somewhat disorganized. Books on the shelves had been moved, and some folders were scattered on the coffee table. Although it was generally tidy, the traces of a forced intrusion and search could not be completely concealed. An unsettling atmosphere permeated the air.

"Miss Koshimizu!" Ran grabbed Koshimizu Nanatsuki's hand anxiously. "What happened? How could Yoshiki-nii...?"

Koshimizu Nanatsuki shook her head, her face filled with helplessness: "I don't know either... This afternoon, a large group of police officers suddenly came, showed a search warrant, and then started... searching everything." She pointed to the desk, "They... they took away Mr. Lin's computer and some documents."

"Computer?" Conan immediately caught the key word. "Why did you take the computer?"

Koshimizu Nanatsuki's face grew even paler. She bit her lip and said with difficulty, "They found a detailed schedule for the Tokyo Summit on Mr. Lin's computer, as well as... a very detailed floor plan of the interior of the conference center on the coast of the ocean." She paused, her voice even lower, "The police say this is crucial evidence that Mr. Lin planned the bombing."

Kogoro Mouri's face turned ashen with rage, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "Damn it! Someone must have framed him! Yoshiki wouldn't do something like this! Was there anything unusual about him before?"

Koshimizu Nanatsuki tried hard to recall, then suddenly remembered something: "Something's off... It seems like yesterday afternoon, Mr. Koshimizu was on the balcony making a phone call for a long time. I vaguely heard... he seemed to be arguing with the person on the other end of the line, his voice was very low, but he sounded very agitated... I've never heard him speak in that tone before." She shook her head, "I didn't hear the specifics, but after he hung up, Mr. Koshimizu stood on the balcony for a long time, his face... looked very bad."

These words made Mori and Ran even more worried.

Ran's face was pale, her hands clenched tightly together, her nails almost digging into her flesh. Conan frowned, his mind racing. An argument on the phone? With whom? Was it with the person who framed him?

Could they be from the Black Organization?

"Speaking of which, doesn't Asuka's agency have another assistant? Where is he?"

"Mr. Amuro has taken the day off."

Conan didn't participate in the adults' discussion; his attention was entirely focused on a thorough investigation of the agency.

He checked the bookshelves, folders, and even the trash cans, but as Kogoro Mouri had expected, the police had clearly conducted an extremely thorough search, making it almost impossible to leave any obvious clues.

But given Hayashi Yoshiki's style, if he foresaw something, he might leave behind more subtle clues.

Could he have hidden some information outside...?

With that thought in mind, Conan quietly slipped towards the glass door leading to the small courtyard at the back.

The courtyard was small, planted with some shade-tolerant plants, and looked somewhat desolate in the twilight.

Conan's gaze swept over every inch of land, every potted plant, and even the cracks in the brickwork of the courtyard wall, like a searchlight.

However, instead of finding any clues, he saw someone who should never have been there—

Toru Amuro!

The man stood in the shadows at the far corner of the courtyard, his back to the office, head slightly bowed, as if scrutinizing the ground or deep in thought. The last rays of the setting sun outlined his tall, yet inexplicably heavy, silhouette.

Conan's pupils suddenly contracted!

Toru Amuro! Bourbon!

In an instant, dangerous memories of this man flooded back—the perilous standoff on the Suzuki Express, how he had been working as an assistant at Yoshiki's agency while secretly gathering information on "Sherry"...

In addition to what Nanatsuki Koshimizu just said—that Yoshiki Hayashi had an argument with someone before his arrest—

All the clues seemed to be connected by an invisible thread at this moment, pointing to a conclusion that sent chills down Conan's spine!

Did this guy frame Yoshiki-san?!

The cold hostility and the anger rising within him did not overwhelm Conan's rationality. He began to ponder the reason why this guy was there and why he used this method to frame him.

But Amuro Tooru in the yard seemed to have sensed something. He suddenly turned his head, his sharp, hawk-like gaze precisely aimed at the direction where Conan was hiding!

Caught off guard, Conan and he locked eyes.

Through the cold moonlight and the deep darkness of night.

In those purplish-gray eyes, Conan saw a cold wariness and a hint of... an unfathomable, complex light.

Amuro Tooru's lips twitched slightly, as if in mockery or a warning.

"..."

Conan took a step toward him.

Chapter 33: Amuro Tooru frames Hayashi Yoshiki!

"Why didn't you do as I instructed, Kazami?"

Amuro Tooru's tone was almost frozen as he spoke to Kazami Yuya on the other end of the phone.

"I'm sorry... Mr. Furuya, this is Mr. Hayashi's instruction—"

"is it?"

Amuro Tooru's tone rose slightly as he interrupted Kazami Yuya with a cold laugh on the other end of the phone, "I didn't even know you started handling liaison work with Hayashi Yoshiki, and he's more influential than me. Or has he started treating you like his boss after handling so much of the firm's work?"

"terribly sorry!"

Kazami Yuya's tone was somewhat flustered.

It was as if you could see his flustered bowing expression even through the phone, and then Amuro Tooru heard him explain:

"Of course, I followed Mr. Furuya's orders first! But... but Mr. Hayashi called and demanded that the fingerprints be changed to his and put the blame on him—I originally wanted to ask Mr. Furuya again, but Mr. Hayashi said that if I didn't do as he said, he would report the recording of your call with him! And he scolded me for having the nerve to push the blame onto an innocent person who knew nothing about it..."

Call recording...

Amuro Tooru's gaze sharpened slightly.

Did Lin Jiashu secretly record that phone call without anyone noticing?

She even secretly recorded her phone calls with herself... No, it should be that she realized her own intentions during the call, so she started recording.

This kid...

Amuro Tooru's solution, which he discussed with Hayashi Yoshiki, was his own idea. As long as the matter could be handled properly in the end, it wouldn't affect him even if the higher-ups in the Public Security Bureau found out. However, the problem was that if the higher-ups found out he was trying to push an innocent civilian to take the blame temporarily in order to delay the case before the matter was even resolved, Amuro Tooru would be punished, no matter how high or low he was.

The so-called upper echelons only care about the results and never the process.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Furuya!"

Kazami Yuya then bowed earnestly and apologized.

...To put it another way, he did accept Hayashi Yoshiki's threat because he was worried that Amuro Tooru would be punished.

But Amuro Tooru cannot tolerate this kind of behavior that hinders progress.

"After this incident is resolved..." Amuro Tooru's tone was so low it sent chills down one's spine, "You'd better prepare yourself, Kazami."

"yes--!"

The call ended there.

Amuro Tooru raised his head and looked at the moon outside the courtyard.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he abruptly turned his head, his sharp, hawk-like gaze piercing precisely behind him.

Caught off guard, he saw a short boy and their eyes met.

The two were separated by the cold moonlight and the deep darkness of the night.

The air in the courtyard suddenly seemed to freeze into ice, so heavy it was suffocating.

Now that he had been discovered, Conan had no intention of hiding any longer. He took a step forward, his eyes burning with an anger that even Amuro Tooru would notice, and stared intently at the man who was slowly turning around.

"Amuro Tooru... it was you, wasn't it? The one who framed Yoshiki-san! What exactly is your purpose in doing all this?"

Framed?

Did he frame Lin Jiashu himself?

Amuro Tooru looked at him, the twilight dividing his face into two parts of light and shadow. His eyes were lowered and fixed on Conan, his gaze churning with complex emotions—displeasure at being disturbed, a hint of elusive irritation, and...something deeper, more suppressed resentment.

He suddenly felt like laughing.

This is Shinichi Kudo, the high school detective hailed as the savior of the police force, the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era.

When he appeared before her, she could only conclude that she had framed Lin Jiashu.

He is simply incomparable to Yoshiki.

No, he really is too outstanding...

Faced with Conan's almost blatant accusations, Amuro Tooru's face revealed a cold, slightly mocking calm.

“Framed?” He repeated the word softly, a cold smile curving his lips. “Do you think you’re playing some game of cops and robbers? As a detective, don’t you think it’s dangerous to make accusations you’re not even confident about?”

He took a step.

He closed the distance between himself and Conan without leaning down, but his eyes looked down at him with such sharpness that it seemed to see right through his glasses: "Or do you think that with your little bit of 'Shinichi Kudo's' cleverness, you can just meddle in adult matters?"

The name "Shinichi Kudo" exploded in Conan's mind like a thunderclap!

In an instant, all the anger and accusations turned into a cold panic, like countless fine ice needles piercing his limbs and bones.

His identity being exposed would mean death, and might even implicate those around him.

Professor Agasa, Ran, Uncle Mori...

For a fleeting moment, Conan's heart did indeed tighten, but amidst this chilling panic, a sharper question pierced his fear like an ice pick—

and many more!

Tooru Amuro, also known as Bourbon...

If he already knew his identity, why didn't he report it to the organization? Why didn't he... just get rid of himself?

This paradox, like a cold light, instantly illuminated his chaotic thoughts, but also plunged him into deeper confusion and vigilance—because Bourbon had also not reported Hayashi Yoshiki's rebellious behavior as "Kundo," but the two's antagonism on the Suzuki Express was genuine, and now it was suspected that the other had framed Hayashi Yoshiki.

He stared intently at Amuro Tooru, trying to find the answer in those unfathomable eyes.

Just then, the door downstairs at the firm was suddenly pushed open.

"Conan? What's wrong? I think I just heard you shouting..." Ran's worried voice came, but her words stopped abruptly when she saw Amuro Tooru in the courtyard.

Kogoro Mouri and Nanatsuki Koshimizu followed closely behind.