frightfiction Chapter 1333 Lifeline
Chapter 1333 Lifeline
Chapter 1333 A Lifeline
"Even elementary school students know that this won't work. Those robbers are a bunch of idiots!"
"It could also be that they're getting older and can't keep up with the new changes."
"Then you should spend the time studying properly. Five or six years is enough time to graduate from elementary school. Why can't you even make a plan?"
The children on their way home from school were still excitedly discussing yesterday's adventures.
Although they didn't play a major role, if one had to say something, it would be that they obediently kept quiet in the early stages, causing no trouble for the cautious detectives, and later, when given instructions, acted swiftly and decisively, minimizing the potential damage from the explosion.
Ultimately, the bombs that could have caused multiple casualties were trapped inside the bathroom. Aside from damaging many tiles and cracking the walls, it wasn't a serious situation.
Of course, it's also quite ridiculous that the most resilient room in a bank is actually the bathroom.
"You need talent to do anything. Or at the very least, you should be humble." Ai Haibara still spoke in that completely childlike tone. "They're probably the kind of people who think they haven't gotten rich only because they have principles, that they're just unappreciated, and that they can become rich just by being a bad person."
She's encountered plenty of people like that in the past.
Leaving aside the menial workers in the organization, even in the organization's laboratories, there are no shortage of researchers with similar ideas.
"In other words, idiots shouldn't even think about committing crimes; it'll only harm themselves and others, and there's no benefit to it." Conan quickly changed the subject to prevent her from launching into another dose of toxic, childish advice. "But anyway, the result was pretty good. Let's look forward to tomorrow's game."
Yesterday's case, rather than the case itself, is more noteworthy in terms of the issues surrounding Jodie, Kumail, and the person who resembles Shuichi Akai.
After he returned, he confirmed with Subaru Okiya several times that this person had nothing to do with him.
Apart from Jodie, the FBI seems to have accepted the fact that their ace has been lost. As for Jodie, she seems to know that there is no turning back and simply hopes that Shuichi Akai himself is safe.
So, anyone appearing at this point in time should, by all accounts, be from the organization's side.
Jodie was unaware of Shuichi Akai's current situation, but now it seems it's not a bad thing at all; she agrees with Shuichi Akai's choice.
Subjective emotions can significantly affect a person's state of mind, and Judy is clearly not cut out for this.
This cannot be entirely blamed on Judy's abilities. Everyone has their own expertise. She is just a normal FBI agent, more than capable of participating in investigations and providing assistance. Expecting her to be a top-notch actress without showing any fear is a bit of an overreaction.
That makes sense. Among this group, Shuichi Akai is the best actor. If there were others who were better actors, he wouldn't have been chosen to go undercover, right?
Conan's thoughts drifted slightly as he pondered the possible scenarios, while the children, following his lead, began discussing tomorrow's ball game.
"We can watch the game tomorrow at 4 PM! It's the final between Tokyo Aoyama and Osaka Superstars! We lost so badly last time, we have to win this time!"
Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya and Ayumi Yoshida were both excited about tomorrow's match, but Genta Kojima sighed heavily.
"But Ah Ying won't be able to play tomorrow, right? They say his injury has relapsed and he has to miss it. I feel like we'll lose the game again—"
Hearing him say that, Ai Haibara's lips secretly curled up slightly, but she quickly suppressed it again: "If Higo from the Superstars team were to pull off another hat trick like last time, the Superstars team would sweep both the scoring title and the championship this year—"
Okay, she's always been considerate of the kids' feelings, but it can't be denied that her favorite team isn't actually the Tokyo team.
Of course, this topic is taboo among fans, especially with their favorite team about to play, so although she was actually relieved, she still tried her best to control her expression.
"Well, Higo can't play either." Conan, who had come to his senses, naturally noticed her smugness and bluntly pointed it out, "He's accumulated enough yellow cards, so he can't play in tomorrow's game."
"Huh?" Haibara Ai was stunned for a moment, not expecting this to be the case, and quickly took out her phone to start searching.
True fan Conan wasn't making this up; the front pages of sports media were filled with headlines like "Both stars unable to play in the decisive match, potentially the biggest regret of the tournament."
"Is that so? No wonder the commentator sounded so regretful when Higo got a yellow card in the last match." Ai Haibara pursed her lips. "That's such a pity—"
You've already started watching the games, why don't you learn about the rules, like the important yellow card suspension system?
Conan rubbed his forehead, while Genta Kojima beside him spoke with an even more somber tone.
"Ugh, I have to go to the dentist tomorrow. This is terrifying—"
"Hey, Genta, do you have cavities?" Ayumi Yoshida turned to look at him. "Did you eat too much candy?"
"Didn't we say at the bank yesterday that my mom took all my New Year's money and deposited it? I want it back—"
"Yes, won't your mother give it to you?"
"She said she wanted to save that money for my medical treatment. I told her I wouldn't get sick and was in good health, but she said I already had cavities and needed to see a dentist." At this point, Genta Kojima began to clutch his head in pain.
The home team's game was missing their favorite stars, and even the opposing team's key players were absent, making the game less interesting.
Add to that the terrible dental problems —
"I really don't want to face these things. I wish they wouldn't come tomorrow—"
As Kojima Genta was sincerely expressing his feelings, he was interrupted by a loud and energetic voice from the side.
"You can't say that, little one. Tomorrow is full of hope, especially for you children! If you keep complaining, your luck will only get worse!"
"?" Unexpectedly, a stranger answered his question. Genta Kojima turned around and saw a smiling, exceptionally friendly middle-aged man standing beside him. He pursed his lips and asked, "Who are you, sir?"
His tone wasn't exactly polite, but the middle-aged man who responded didn't seem to want to argue with him, waving his hand and behaving very gently.
"I'm just a retired old man who happened to be passing by. You can call me Shirota."
"Hmph, so, uncle, do you have something happy to do tomorrow?" Kojima Genta was still not happy about being interrupted for no reason and having a long speech full of motivational platitudes. He narrowed his eyes.
"So many happy things! There are so many!" Shirota bent down, looking at Genta Kojima. "I'm going to Osaka tomorrow to watch a soccer match, and I'm also meeting up with a friend I haven't seen in 10 years for drinks. Also, the drama I've been watching is having its finale tomorrow, so I can finally see the ending—oh, and I also bought a lottery ticket; tomorrow's the draw day. All good things, how could I not be happy?"
"Is there something to be happy about when the lottery results are drawn?" Genta Kojima felt a strange unease after listening to his rambling. "It's not like you're guaranteed to win."
Conan, who had been paying little attention, turned around upon hearing this and looked at the man's expression.
Genta Kojima kept refuting his statement. After all, he's a child, and it's normal for him not to like being lectured.
But the way this uncle expressed himself sounded very wrong.
He was clearly talking about envisioning the future, full of wonderful expectations, but his words sounded like he was reminiscing about the past, describing something that could no longer be retrieved.
Moreover, most people only have a clear concept of specific happiness and joy when recalling the past. The future is something that hasn't happened yet, and describing it in this way doesn't evoke longing; instead, it seems to be filled with a sense of regret.
Shirota didn't notice Conan's scrutinizing gaze; he simply smiled and took out his briefcase.
He claimed to be a retiree, but carried a neat leather bag that looked exactly like the kind office worker would carry. He pulled out a smaller handbag from the middle, unzipped it, and took out an envelope.
"I had a feeling that my luck was going to be good this time, so I bought a dozen or twenty tickets in one go. Luck is coming, of course I should be happy."
Upon hearing him say that, even the most oblivious Genta Kojima's expression softened considerably.
The envelope in his hand was bulging, revealing the tops of many receipts, showing that he was telling the truth and had indeed bought a lot.
But the more this is the case, the more unsettling his current behavior becomes.
Suddenly taking over from Genta Kojima's words, he launched into a long, rambling speech, which seemed less like admonishing a child and more like trying to persuade and encourage himself to persevere.
Conan squinted and began to carefully observe the details of Shirota's body, preparing to find something amiss, when suddenly someone rushed out from the crowd coming down from the overpass, snatched the bag from Shirota's hand, and ran forward.
He knocked the envelope out of Shirota's hand, and the lottery tickets inside flew everywhere.
"Robbery?!" Shirota's voice suddenly became incoherent. "Thief! Thief!"
Judging from his back, the person who snatched the bag was a young man, while Shirota, a middle-aged man of medium build, seemed to have no chance of catching him, not to mention that his eyes were fixed on the flying lottery tickets, and he couldn't even take a step.
Conan frowned, quickened his pace, and rushed towards the thief who was turning into the alley.
This man looks very unwell; we can't let this kind of accident continue to happen.
When people are pushed to their limits, they will inevitably make extreme choices that are difficult to reverse.
The thief was quick on his feet, disappearing into the narrow alley between two shops. Conan hurriedly followed, his hand reaching for his belt, ready to press the launch button for the soccer ball. But as soon as he turned into the alley, he heard the running thief let out a scream.
He looked in the direction of the alley and saw a figure coming against the light, mercilessly kicking the thief in the waist and abdomen, causing the bag that the thief had snatched to fly out of his hand.
Bathed in light, the two figures appeared as silhouettes, their movements accentuated by the stark contrast of black and white light and shadow, creating a powerful and imposing scene that nearly made Conan slip.
Completely unaware that he had created a poster effect of total attack in Conan's perspective, Tang Ze withdrew his foot, bent down to pick up the small bag on the ground, patted the dust off his head, and glanced disdainfully at the thief who had been kicked against the wall and was slowly sliding down.
Why do you have to do something so bad? Is the underground emperor of Mihua lacking for your food or your clothes? Bourbon brought the detective here for a wallet. How shameful.
Tang Ze certainly didn't appear here for no reason.
As an onion monster, Tang Ze's time management schedule is arranged in 15-minute increments.
School's out now, and while the agency can handle the negotiations with the client, Hoshikawa Teru can't skip the task of communicating with the henchmen on behalf of Bourbon, who's busy messing with Akai Shuichi.
Hoshikawa couldn't do this for him either, since there's so much slang and jargon used in these black and gray industries.
Without a deep understanding of these systems and experience with the different circles, it's difficult to seamlessly integrate into the conversation. Therefore, Tang Ze himself is naturally the only one who can take on the role of the contact person.
Who knew that as soon as he separated from his contact, Tang Ze simply opened the map out of habit and saw a huge tarot card rushing towards him, accompanied by shouts of "Catch the thief!" What else could he not understand?
Honestly, Tang Ze doesn't understand. There's a good job here where you get paid to do some shady legal stuff for Bourbon, so why do you still prefer shady dealings? And shady dealings are one thing, but bringing detectives into your own backyard?
Having narrowly managed to conceal his true identity and prevent his more sinister side from being exposed, Tang Ze turned around and smiled at Conan, who was rushing towards him.
"What a coincidence! Aren't you going out to play with the kids today?"
Conan's lips twitched as Tang Ze preemptively spoke.
Shouldn't I be the one saying that? What are you doing here if you have nothing better to do?
Despite his inner turmoil, Conan, who was used to Tang Ze running around the shopping street after school, didn't take it to heart and took the handbag from him.
"Thanks. This is very important; we can't let anyone take it so easily."
"Hmm? Something important?"
"Yeah. It might just be a lifeline."
Conan sighed softly as he looked at his personal belongings peeking out from under the unzipped zipper.
Although he didn't want to admit it, just like what Tang Ze had said to Hattori before, perhaps after being exposed to many things, one doesn't need any evidence to be able to tell at a glance who is walking on the edge.
Having witnessed too much death and grudges, he instinctively felt that the older man was very problematic.
Conan doesn't know how to solve this problem, nor does he know if he can solve it.
There are many reasons why people go to extremes. It may be for ordinary reasons, or the real problem may be more intractable than imagined. In Tokyo, where the suicide rate is so high, this man is just one of the masses. No one can say that he can end someone else's suffering.
Thinking of this, Conan raised his eyes and looked at his friend who was still smiling in front of him.
That's right. Whether it's his skill in conversation and guiding emotions, or considering Tang Ze's possible hidden identity, he's a much more suitable person than myself to play the role of companion and listener.
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