"Officer Takagi."
"Ah!" Takagi jumped, startled. "Conan-kun, what are you doing in my car?"
"You don't need to worry about that. Uncle Mouri asked me to come ask you about the case." Conan put on his innocent act.
Takagi didn't even question why Mouri would send a little kid to ask about case details. Still, as Conan's inside man in the police force, Takagi didn't hold anything back and told Conan everything.
Three seconds left to figure out the next bomb's location. Conan rubbed his chin. What did that mean? Then it hit him. This bomber was cruel, forcing the police into a dilemma—either defuse the bomb and miss the clue to the next one, or chase the clue and risk dying in the explosion.
Such a cruel criminal. Conan frowned. This kind of opponent was the hardest to deal with, but he absolutely couldn't let him go.
"So, Officer Takagi, the case three years ago was the same?"
"We don't know yet if it's the same guy, but Inspector Megure has already pulled out the files from three years ago to re-investigate."
Conan thought it was very likely the same man. But what was his goal? Was it really just to satisfy a twisted desire to kill? Such evil couldn't be forgiven.
"Stupid police, let me give you a hint." Just when the police were in chaos, the arrogant bomber sent a new challenge. "The bomb isn't fixed in one place—it's moving, through the streets and alleys."
The news reached Takagi quickly, and of course Conan heard it too.
A moving location. Conan immediately thought of the trains. The police thought the same and halted all of Tokyo's subways for inspection.
They found suspicious objects, but they were only fake bombs—stuffed with fireworks and mocking notes taunting the police.
One, two… more and more fake bombs turned up.
"Damn it, the bomber is just playing with us!" Inspector Megure slammed the table with a bang. But it was useless. The fakes gave them nothing.
How could a bomb move around without anyone knowing?
Takagi ran all over Tokyo collecting intel, but got nowhere. Conan sat in the passenger seat, lost in thought. How was the bomb moving?
"What if it's in the deliveries?"
Conan almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice beside him. "Liu A… A'dou-nii, what are you doing here?"
"I just saw you with Officer Takagi and knew something must be going on, so I came over. I saw what you wrote in your notebook and thought, maybe the bombs are being carried by couriers."
On Conan's detective notebook was scrawled: 'ways the bomb could be moving.'
That's it—deliveries! This era already had couriers, though not many. And they were the ones moving through streets and alleys. "Officer Takagi, it's deliveries. The bombs are in the deliveries!"
Takagi froze. It was a new trade, but highly possible. Couriers never opened parcels, so they wouldn't know what was inside. "Doesn't that mean the bombs could be sent to any innocent person?" Takagi's face twisted with anger.
Luckily, the courier business was still just starting up, so there weren't many companies or parcels. They could contact them all directly.
"No way! These are valuable goods. Customers trust us to deliver them safely. How can we just open their parcels?" The courier company boss flatly refused.
"But there are bombs hidden in them!" Takagi said urgently.
"No, no, absolutely not. Unless you can point out the exact package, we won't allow it."
Takagi was stuck.
"Don't you have police dogs? Or use X-ray scans?" Again it was Liu A'dou.
This guy sure knew a lot, Conan thought.
Takagi thought for a moment—yeah, that made sense.
Liu A'dou was already fed up. He really didn't know whether Takagi was the cop or if he himself was. And Sato Miwako sticking by this guy? Clearly, her IQ had taken a dive.
"Officer Takagi, step it up," Liu A'dou struck without mercy. "Act like a cop, will you? Look at you now—dragging around an elementary school kid while chasing bombs. You look more like a kindergarten teacher than a police officer."
Takagi laughed awkwardly, then realized he was right. Having Conan tag along wasn't a good idea. "Conan-kun, I'll take you home first."
'Damn you, Liu A'dou. And ungrateful Takagi too.' In Conan's mind, a herd of wild horses thundered past. Clearly, Takagi thought Liu A'dou was more reliable than an elementary schooler and wanted to ditch him. "No! I'm not going home, I'm not going home!" He pulled out the classic brat tactic.
Kudou Shinichi, you're supposed to be a high schooler. Where's your dignity?
Takagi couldn't handle Conan's whining. "Alright, alright! You can keep following."
"Yay!" Conan fully leaned into playing the childish role, completely shameless.
After all the fuss, they finally found the bomb. Yes, it was inside a courier package.
"The police have located it. We'll begin defusing now. Everyone, step back."
They built a sandbag barrier around the package, and the bomb squad moved in.
Liu A'dou and the others retreated to a safe distance, watching nervously.
"Viewers, as you can see, the police are currently working to defuse the bomb."
"Hey, hey, don't report this live! It's dangerous, step back!" Takagi didn't expect reporters to sniff it out so quickly and rush over.
"Officer, could you share your thoughts on the latest situation with the bomber?"
Takagi waved frantically. "This is classified."
"Would the police sacrifice gaining bomb intel just to protect their own lives, even if that risks greater harm?"
"Of course not." Takagi denied it firmly.
"Really? Because according to information we've obtained, that's not true. The bomber releases intel about the next bomb in the final seconds before detonation, but the police are choosing to defuse early for their own safety."
Takagi's temper flared. That was slander! But he also asked, "How did your station even know about this?" That was supposed to be a secret—how could the media know?
"So you're admitting it's true, then?" the reporter pressed sharply.
Takagi was completely overwhelmed by the annoying reporters. "Please leave, we're in the middle of defusing!"
Once again, the bomber's three-second clue was sent to the police. The bomb squad saw it too. Now they had to choose—sacrifice themselves or let the next bomb go off somewhere else.
"Damn it!" Conan's eyes darkened. This bomber's malice was aimed squarely at the police. Damn it, how could they catch him?
Liu A'dou, on the other hand, mused that sometimes the detective world produced one or two criminals with real style. A guy like this—if he went to Gotham City—he might actually become someone of note.
The reporters turned their cameras on the bomb squad. The atmosphere was tense.
"You're broadcasting live?" Liu A'dou suddenly asked.
"Of course. This is big news," the reporter said.
"Perfect." Liu A'dou gave a light leap over the safety line and slowly walked into the frame. He was going to put on a live show.