Detective Conan: The System Takes Me to Zero's World

Sato Miwako gripped the steering wheel, occasionally glancing at Kudo Yuki in the passenger seat, her fingertips clenched. "Officer Chisu hasn't replied yet. Did they really run into the patrol?"

The rat in Kudo Yuki's pocket poked its little head out, its chubby paws scratching at the fabric. "Just now I saw Officer Chisu lead the patrol to the west barrel area. Mr. Kyogoku took the opportunity to hide in the fork in the passage. Now the two have reunited and are heading towards the basement."

In the back seat, Ogino Ayami gripped her folding baton, her fingertips rubbing the ridges along its shaft. "Kenji should be almost at the ventilation duct entrance, right? He just said on the communicator that he saw the fluorescent mark Matsuda left."

Miyamoto Yumi leaned over to look at the corridor map on her phone, and suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!" "The fork here looks like the warehouse we were investigating last time. I missed a step and fell in a place like this last time..."

Kudo Yuki turned around and handed over a highlighter. "Draw the mark on the back of your hand. In the corridor, you can only rely on the flashlight to illuminate the scratches on the wall. Follow Chisu's route and you won't go wrong. By the way, when you meet Kyogoku Makoto later, tell him not to force the fight. There might be a trigger alarm next to the water injection device in the basement."

In another car, Hagiwara Kenji leaned against the passenger seat and smiled at Date Kou, who was driving. "Date, do you think that when I crawl through the ventilation duct later, will Xiao Zhenping complain about my slowness again? Last time when we were investigating a case in the warehouse, he also said that I was slow even when crawling through the ventilation duct."

Yi Dahang looked ahead, his lips curled up: "Don't think about him complaining about you yet. When you reach the entrance of the ventilation duct, remember to check if there are any secret sentries around.

Your sister, Officer Chisu, just reported that she's lured the sentry behind the west barrel away, but there may still be patrols near the entrance. I'll drop you off and then take over Yokomizo's shift at the main gate. After you meet up with Matsuda, remember to report safety every minute on the communicator so as not to worry Aimi.

Hagiwara Kenji dropped his joking expression and said, "Got it. I'll keep an eye on Jinpei-chan and make sure he doesn't make any noise chewing mints. By the way, if I see Hashimoto Shin later, should I approach him? He previously sent a message saying he wanted to get rid of Rum, so maybe he can tell me something about the situation on the top floor."

"Don't act rashly." Date Kou slammed on the brakes, stopping the car in a secluded spot a hundred meters from the ventilation duct entrance. "Manager Kuroda said Hashimoto Shin's identity hasn't been fully confirmed yet. We'll decide whether to contact him after Xiaoxue and the others meet up with Officer Chisu. You go in quickly. I'm going to the main gate."

Kenji Hagiwara pushed open the car door and ran towards the entrance of the ventilation duct with his equipment. As soon as he got close, he saw a light white scratch on the wall. He shone a flashlight on it and traces of fluorescent powder immediately appeared.

"It's indeed a mark left by Xiao Zhenping." Hagiwara Kenji bent down and crawled into the ventilation duct. The wind inside was filled with the smell of dust. As he climbed, he called softly into the communicator: "Xiao Zhenping, I'm in the ventilation duct. I'll be below you in about three minutes. How are you doing over there?"

Matsuda Jinpei's voice came over the communicator, with the crisp sound of chewing mints. "There are five guards on the top floor, all armed with modified rifles. I just blocked the elevator door with a fire axe, so no one can go down to reinforce the basement for now. When you get there, keep quiet. Wait for Xiaoxue and the others to make their move, then we'll attack from both sides."

The entrance of the old department store.

Ida Hang looked at the road ahead, buttoned his police jacket to the top, adjusted the brim of his hat, and tried his best to make himself look like a police officer on daily patrol.

He walked along the alley towards the main gate and saw from a distance Shigeo Yokomizo leaning against the wall, pretending to look at his cell phone, but his eyes occasionally glanced at the three smoking guards.

"Can I borrow a light?" Yi Dahang walked over and deliberately raised his chin towards one of the guards in black coats. His voice sounded so natural as if he was just passing by.

The guard handed over a lighter.

Yokomizo Shigego suddenly coughed twice and winked at Date Kou - that was the agreed-upon signal for "action is possible".

Yi Dahang immediately responded, "We just received a notification that a resident in the area reported a suspicious individual wandering around. How long have you been here? Show me your IDs."

He put his hand on the baton at his waist and his tone became serious.

The three guards panicked instantly and exchanged glances with each other.

One of them wanted to step back, but was stopped by Yi Dahang: "What? You don't have your ID? Come with me back to the police station."

Yokomizo Shigego took the opportunity to get behind them and lowered his voice, "Don't waste time. Either come with us or get out now. Don't let Lord Rum know that you can't even handle a patrol policeman."

When the guards heard the word "rum," their faces turned even paler, and they put away their cigarettes with curses and walked away in the opposite direction along the alley.

"Done." Date Ko made a gesture to Yokomizo Shigeo, and then posted an inconspicuous yellow note on the corner of the main entrance. It was the agreed "safety" mark.

"I'll keep watch here for another five minutes. Go check the west side. Officer Qiansu and the others are still waiting to join us in the underground passage. Don't let the sentries trip them up."

Yokomizo Shigego nodded and was about to turn around when he heard the sound of a motorcycle coming from the alley.

Sera Masumi rode over on his bike and shouted at them, "There really are two secret guards behind the iron barrel on the west side. When I took a detour, I saw them fiddling with walkie-talkies, as if they were reporting to the top floor!"

After Conan crawled out of the ventilation tunnel, as soon as his knees touched the dusty ground, his fingertips felt a piece of cold metal - the fuse interface of the bomb.

He immediately held his breath, took out a flashlight and swept it across the ground. Three cylindrical objects were instantly reflected in the beam of light. The outer shells had familiar markings on them. They were the time bombs commonly used by Rum's men.

Conan quickly pulled out a microphone from his backpack and lowered his voice to a very low level: "Sister Xue, I found three time bombs on the east side of the basement. The countdown is only 15 minutes. The fuses are connected to a linkage device. If you remove the wrong one, all of them will explode."

Kudo Yuki's response came immediately from the other end of the microphone: "Don't touch the fuse yet! I asked Mr. Kyogoku to cut off the power in the basement. Officer Chisu is already rushing to you with explosion-proof pliers. By the way, are there any fluorescent markings around the bomb? Matsuda said he would leave a warning in the danger zone."

Upon hearing this, Conan immediately shook the flashlight and saw a light blue scratch on the bomb casing on the far left, which was Matsuda Jinpei's unique marking method.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps not far away, so I quickly turned off the flashlight and hid behind the ventilation duct, sticking to the wall.

"Who asked you to come here? Lord Rum said that only two people will be left to guard the basement!" A rough voice approached with the sound of metal collision.

Conan looked through the gap in the pipe and saw two guards in black coats patrolling with guns raised, and the walkie-talkies on their waists were still buzzing.

He quietly took out his watch with an anesthetic needle, aimed it at the guard closest to the bomb, and quickly said into the microphone, "Two guards are coming. I'll take care of them first. You guys come here as soon as possible! The bomb's countdown display is covered with black tape. I have to wait until the guards leave before I can tear it off to check the exact time!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the anesthetic needle hit the guard's back of the neck, and the guard fell to the ground with a groan.

Just as the other guard was about to turn his head, Conan had already swung out his football belt, and the football inflated and expanded with a "bang", hitting the opponent's knee accurately.

Taking advantage of the moment when the guard bent over in pain, Conan rushed over, snatched the gun from his hand, tied his hands and feet with tape, and then tore off the black tape on the bomb. There were only 12 minutes left in the countdown.

"Time's running out!" Conan said urgently into the microphone, his fingertips already touching the bomb's circuit board. "I'll try to disconnect the linkage wire first. Where are you?"

"We're at the fork in the passage, 30 seconds left!" Kudo Yuki's voice was breathless. "Don't be impulsive. Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji are already at the old department store to reinforce us. You just need to keep an eye on the guards and don't let them wake up!"

Conan had just responded when he heard a slight metallic friction sound behind him - the guard who had been anesthetized before had woken up and was struggling to touch the walkie-talkie on the ground.

He immediately turned around and rushed over, holding down the other person's hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the bomb countdown jumped to 10 minutes, and the footsteps of Hagiwara Chisura finally sounded at the end of the corridor.

When Hagiwara Chisu rushed into the basement, he saw Conan squatting next to the bomb and the guard who was tied up but still struggling beside him.

She immediately threw the explosion-proof pliers aside, squatted down and held Conan's hand: "Don't touch the wires! I know nothing about bomb disposal. If this thing explodes, the whole basement will collapse!"

Hagiwara Chisu quickly took out his communicator and pressed the call button, but kept his voice steady: "Kenji! Go to the basement through the ventilation duct immediately! Conan found three time bombs on the east side with linkage devices. I can't handle them!"

Hagiwara Kenji's voice was immediately heard from the communicator, mixed with the friction sound of climbing the ventilation duct: "Sis? Don't panic! I'm only one minute away from the basement ventilation vent. Let Conan control the guards around the bomb first and don't let them touch the fuse!

Are there any markings left by Xiao Zhenping on the bomb casing? He taught me before: the blue scratch marks are safety lines, and the red ones are linkage lines!

Hagiwara Chisushi shone the flashlight at the bomb casings and saw light blue scratches on the leftmost one.

"Yes! The bomb on the far left has a blue scratch, but the other two don't! There are 8 minutes left in the countdown. Conan said the display screen is covered with tape, and I just tore it off and saw it!"

"Have Conan pry open the shell of the bomb with the blue scratch!" Hagiwara Kenji's voice was getting closer. "Kojinpei said that the emergency shut-off valve of this type of bomb is hidden under the blue scratch. If you pry open the shell, you can see the red button. Pressing it will pause the countdown of that bomb. Let's reduce the risk first!"

Conan immediately took out his multi-purpose knife and carefully pried the casing along the blue scratches.

Hagiwara Chisu stood up and stood in front of him, staring at the movement at the entrance. "Mr. Kyogoku and Xiaoxue will be here in 20 seconds. They brought insulating tape and spare flashlights, so they can help you later!"

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a "clang" sound coming from the ventilation duct. Hagiwara Kenji poked his head out, holding a bomb disposal tool in his hand: "Sister, move aside! I'll do it!"

He turned over and jumped down the ventilation duct, heading straight for the bomb. He squatted down and took the knife from Conan's hand: "Leave the rest to me, you go help Sister Qiansu keep an eye on the guards, don't let them wake up and touch anything!"

Hagiwara Chisuku breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and tied up the struggling guard a little tighter, and shouted into the communicator: "Matsuda! Kenji has gone to the basement to defuse the bomb. How are you dealing with the guards on the top floor? Can you come down to support us?"

Matsuda Jinpei's voice on the communicator was like the crisp sound of chewing mints. "There are only two guards left on the top floor. I'll go down after I'm done with them! Tell Hagi not to panic. Don't touch the yellow wire when defusing the bomb. It's the backup trigger wire. Last time, he defused it by mistake in the warehouse and nearly blew up half the room!"

Hagiwara Kenji blushed upon hearing this, but his hands didn't stop moving: "I know! No need for you to remind me!"

His fingertips accurately found the emergency shut-off valve, and the moment he pressed the red button, the countdown of the bomb on the far left stopped at 5 minutes and 12 seconds.

"Got one!" Hagiwara Kenji was about to deal with the second one when he heard Kudo Yuki's voice coming from the entrance.

"Kenji! We've shut off the water injection device in the basement, so you don't have to worry about leaks when defusing the bomb! Kyogoku Makoto has already guarded the entrance, so no guards will come in!"

Hagiwara Kenji nodded and took out some insulating tape from his backpack. "Xiaoxue, help me hold down the circuit board of the third bomb! The linkage wire of this bomb is at the bottom. I need to pick it out and cut it!"

Hagiwara Chisu stood aside, watching his brother's skillful movements, and couldn't help but mutter under his breath: "If I had known you were capable of this, I shouldn't have competed with you to learn combat in the police academy..."

Hagiwara Kenji heard it and turned back with a smile: "Sister, I'll take care of the bomb disposal. You just need to be in the front!"

As he spoke, he had already cut the linkage wire of the second bomb, and the countdown stopped at 3 minutes.

The dismantling of the last bomb went particularly smoothly. When Kenji Hagiwara pressed the last shut-off valve, the entire basement fell silent.

Conan came over and looked at the stopped countdown: "Finally finished dismantling it! Only 1 minute left before it explodes!"

Hagiwara Chisu immediately picked up the communicator: "Ida! All the bombs have been defused. We are heading to the top floor to meet you! How is Hashimoto Shin?"

Date Ko's voice came over the communicator: "Hashimoto Shin is in the control room on the top floor. He just quietly avoided the patrolling guards' sight and contacted us via encrypted channel, saying he's willing to take us to the control room. We're just about to go up! Come quickly, don't waste time!"

Everyone immediately ran towards the entrance. Kudo Yuki had just taken two steps when the rat in her pocket suddenly began to tug at her fabric restlessly, its little head poking out of her pocket. Its chubby paw even gently patted her waist, "Xiaoxue, there's something unusual going on up ahead."

Kudo Yuki immediately raised her hand to signal everyone to stop, made a "hush" gesture with her fingertips, and lowered her voice: "Don't make any noise, there may be guards patrolling ahead."

Kenji Hagiwara immediately took out the baton from his waist and walked lightly towards the corner of the passage. Kyogoku Shinya tensed his body and stood in front of Conan and Kudo Yuki.

Hagiwara Chisu took out his cell phone, switched to flashlight mode, and shone the light forward close to the ground. Sure enough, he saw two swaying black shadows walking towards him from the end of the corridor, and the sound of footsteps was particularly clear in the empty passage.

"It's the patrol!" Hagiwara Chishun quickly retracted his flashlight. "Let's go around through the side passage. I just looked at the map and it leads directly to the entrance of the ventilation duct on the top floor. It's safer than forcing our way through the main corridor."

Everyone nodded and followed Hagiwara Chisuki to the side passage.

To be continued...