Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

Either they die together, or one dies and the other lives. The person who set this trap is definitely a person who likes to stir up trouble.

Not everyone is willing to sacrifice. At this critical moment of life and death, most people will not rush to stay as shown in TV dramas. They will only fight over who can escape and who is forced to stay.

...But I didn't expect that one of the students would actually stay voluntarily without any complaints.

Jinpei Matsuda remembered the name Kudo Shinichi.

He had a feeling that this kid was definitely not simple.

"There's one thing I don't understand." He continued, his brows gradually furrowed.

"From the making of the bomb, I can roughly tell that Koshiba Koji is a careless, impatient and impulsive person. How did he design such a trap?"

When he arrived at the blocked room, Jinpei Matsuda observed the huge rock.

The size and position of the stone must have been calculated precisely. If there was even the slightest deviation, it would not be blocking the door.

As for the music teacher in the school, Koshiba Koji simply placed a bomb and was done with it; as for this student, he first locked him in a flooded underground ark, then forced him to make a choice between two options, and finally made him face the bomb before his death...

The difference is too big.

It's just that the degree of hatred is different. His main target of attack is Kudo Shinichi, so is the teacher just a by-product?

...Or is there a second criminal in this case?

"The last one is the music teacher. He is definitely not an ordinary person, right?"

Full of suspicion, Matsuda Jinpei asked directly. After asking, he realized that his question was too straightforward: "...Can you tell me?"

Amuro Toru said calmly: "Aoyagi Akimitsu is from the American office."

Jinpei Matsuda was stunned.

"He was a frontline anti-terrorism and rescue worker involved in the marathon bombing in October last year, the street bombing near Central Park in March this year, and the large number of hostage bomb hijackings in hospitals at the end of May."

"..."

Matsuda Jinpei was speechless for a long time at the excitement on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. He put the cigarette in his mouth again: "No wonder that guy is so familiar with bombs..."

He did not ask in detail why such a person came to Japan to be a teacher, nor did he ask his friends what they were investigating in the school - he had already reached his limit by telling him the other person's identity.

"Hey, Matsuda! ... Strange, where did they go?"

They heard Miwako Sato from the First Investigation Division calling for help.

Shortly after they arrived, the policewoman also arrived, and her racing skills were equally extraordinary.

"Go over quickly." said Toru Amuro.

Matsuda Jinpei walked forward a few steps without looking back, and finally reminded: "Send me here today, the Metropolitan Police Department may contact you to take a statement... Be careful."

"I'll pay attention."

Toru Amuro watched Matsuda Jinpei leave, then looked around and the smile on his face gradually faded.

The innocent student was rescued safely, and he met his good friends from the same period and reported their safety to each other... This should have been a happy thing, but somewhere in his heart, he always felt an inexplicable uneasiness.

He also thought of what Jinpei Matsuda suspected.

Is Koji Koshiba really the only criminal in this case?

Could there be another person... behind the scenes?

Seeing that no one was around, Toru Amuro quickly took out his cell phone. A few minutes ago, his subordinate called him, but he didn't answer the call yet, so he quickly called back.

"Hey?"

"Mr. Fūya!" Yuya Kazami's voice was urgent. He said in a panic: "We have successfully found Xiaoshiba's address! But he..."

Amuro Toru's heart sank: "What happened to him?"

"He...had drowned in his own home..."

"?!"

……

Jinpei Matsuda had no idea what was happening to Toru Amuro behind him.

He came to Sato Miwako and was scanned up and down by the flower of the Metropolitan Police Department. She handed him the blanket in her hand.

"Really? Underwater search work is very hard. Everyone else is resting well after coming up, but you actually went to the side to smoke..."

Jinpei Matsuda took the blanket but did not cover himself with it immediately. Instead, he looked at his colleagues in the explosive ordnance disposal team next to him.

These men who usually look big and strong and always brag about how healthy they are in the office, are now frail and wrapped in blankets. When Sato Miwako looked over, they started coughing and sneezing.

"........."

He was too lazy to expose their thoughts...

Matsuda Jinpei complained silently in his heart, and Sato Miwako turned around and brought him a cup of hot water. He took it with one hand and said thank you.

A colleague who was in charge of the upper-level bomb disposal work and whose clothes were not wet suddenly said, "Tell me, how did they carry that stone here?"

"It must have been moved by machines. How can human power move it?" said another.

The colleague who brought up the topic frowned.

"The Ark has only one exit. The criminal had to lock the two students in the second underground floor first. After he left, he brought stones to block the exit... That's what happened between last night and this morning."

Jinpei Matsuda turned around suddenly.

After the stone fell from the second floor, a hole appeared in the ceiling of the underground first floor. He looked at the land and lawn next to the hole.

"There are no signs of any heavy objects being moved on the ground from the exit to the original location of the stone, which shows that the stone was not dragged over. It is more like something lifted it up from a high place, broke the ceiling, and placed it in that location."

"The only thing that can do this is a hoist or crane on a construction site, right? ... But if that kind of equipment passes by, it will definitely leave deep marks on the mud that won't fade for several days."

Not only Jinpei Matsuda, but everyone else gradually realized the problem.

Together they looked toward the land near the hole.

The police car was parked in another place where there were no signs of any human machinery having passed by. Instead, there were strange signs as if some animal had crawled there.

Jinpei Matsuda stared at the lawn next to him.

Judging from the traces of crushed grass all around, that animal... no, that thing, the thickest part of its body is probably more than one meter.

Although they were in the sun, everyone felt cold all over.

----

At the same time, at Minato Middle School.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Qingliu."

The last police officer who stayed in the school gave Aoyagi Akimitsu instructions before leaving: "Please come to the Metropolitan Police Department tomorrow to make a detailed statement."

——After Toru Amuro and his team left, the police who stayed on campus contacted the Hojo family and confirmed that the other missing child had returned safely and was currently in the hospital.

At this point, the student disappearance case and campus bombing case finally came to a temporary end.

"Ok."

Aoyagi Hiromitsu paused, then asked, "Can I bring Kudo with me? I just received a call, and he said he doesn't need to be hospitalized and can come over tomorrow."

"Of course." The policeman smiled.

The police left quickly, and the Dean of Academic Affairs came over and said, "Teacher Qing Liu, the principal has just decided to give the school a holiday for the next few days of this week to give the students some relief. Classes will resume next Monday."

The rabbit squatted back on Qingliu Bingguang's shoulder and shook his ears. Why didn't he meet such a humane principal when he was in school?

"That piano..." Aoyagi Binguang looked behind him worriedly.

"Logistics will replace it with a new one for you during this period," said the Dean of Academic Affairs. "If you are fine, go home quickly. You have worked really hard today. If you feel unwell physically or mentally, please contact me immediately."

Aoyagi Binguang nodded, turned and left the music classroom.

The teaching building was completely empty at this moment. Even the faculty and staff had just left one after another. He was one of the last to leave.

As they walked down the stairs, Aoyagi Binkou suddenly reached out and pinched his nose.

[Does your nose feel uncomfortable? ] The rabbit asked curiously.

“…No, I just felt like someone was talking about me.”

Aoyagi Binguang answered softly while pinching his nose a few times to relieve the discomfort.

[…It’s Shinichi, right?]

The rabbit soon had a first suspect.

After Toru Amuro left, Rabbit naturally returned to Aoyagi Akimitsu, and he also heard Kudo Shinichi's "last words".

Just imagine, you thought you were going to die, and you were expressing your love and longing to your parents and the girl you liked, but the next second, you saw the police breaking in to save you...

Good news: his life was saved.

Bad news: He still died, a complete social death!

"……maybe."

Aoyagi Binguang smiled helplessly, and he walked downstairs with the rabbit, crossing the floor tiles where the sunlight fell, and walking only in the shadows.

"But I never thought he would make that choice. He was willing to sacrifice himself to save someone who just bullied him yesterday."

[I told you before that Shinichi values ​​life very much. He even saved Vermouth who was disguised as a murderer and almost fell off the railing...]

The rabbit didn't find it strange at all.

"I heard you say that."

Aoyagi Hiromitsu said gently: "But there are some things that can only be truly confirmed if you see them with your own eyes, right?"

They arrived at the parking lot, opened the door of the black Mazda and got in. As usual, he put the rabbit on the passenger seat.

Qing Liu Bingguang fastened his seat belt, turned to the rabbit and said, "I'm a little tired today and don't want to cook. Can I just go to the nearby supermarket and buy some cooked food for lunch and dinner?"

[What you encountered today was unprovoked. You should really take a good rest. ]

The rabbit didn't think much about it.

So many things happened today that he felt exhausted as a bystander, let alone as a personal participant.

I don’t know where Koji Koshiba is now. He kidnapped two students, planted a bomb in the school, and finally went to the Ark to set up a trap like that... He must be exhausted now, right?