To the brave police, your courage is admirable. I will leave you a clue in the final 3 seconds. Make your choice.
It was the same trick again. This time, the bomb was hidden in the elevator shaft of Tokyo Tower, and it was even more dangerous than before. It had a mercury balance device, which meant even the slightest vibration could trigger it.
"Is there only one?"
"They're still searching. It's possible there are more explosives." Sure enough, 1, 2… more than 3 bombs were found just in the elevator shaft.
If all of them went off, Tokyo Tower would be destroyed.
"Inspector Megure, evacuate the area. We can't guarantee with 100% certainty that we can disarm all of these," the bomb squad warned grimly.
"I understand. Be careful," Megure ordered. "Immediately evacuate everyone in the surrounding area. Make sure no one gets hurt."
Police sealed off Tokyo Tower completely, not letting anyone approach. Of course, the scene drew swarms of reporters eager to broadcast live.
Sato stared at Tokyo Tower without speaking. Memories of her first love, Matsuda, flooded back. He had been blown to pieces by this same criminal, leaving not even a whole body behind.
That gentle man, her first love, had died at the bomber's hands. Sato clenched her phone tightly, fury boiling in her chest.
Three years. She thought she had buried it, but once the case resurfaced, she could no longer contain her rage.
"According to police reports, at least 3 high-tech bombs have been found inside Tokyo Tower. They are extremely dangerous. The bomb squad is now working to disarm them. Will they succeed in saving Tokyo Tower? Let's wait and see," the reporters narrated.
The tension was overwhelming. If Tokyo Tower itself blew up, it wouldn't matter as much, since it had already been evacuated. The real fear was that other bombs might be hidden in crowded areas. If they went off, the police would never escape blame.
But the police didn't need to panic—because Conan had arrived. He would never let the bomber succeed. Standing at the base of Tokyo Tower, he found Officer Takagi.
There were many bombs, all made of powerful C4. In addition to timers, they were rigged with mercury balance tubes. They couldn't be moved—only disarmed on the spot.
The elevator shaft made disarming them even more dangerous.
'If only I could see the bombs myself,' Conan thought. 'I learned all about defusing them back in Hawaii. But it's impossible for me to go in. Only the bomb squad can get near them, not even the detectives from the First Division.'
"Officer Takagi, what about the final 3-second hint?" Conan asked.
"I don't know." Takagi shook his head. He had no idea what the bomb squad would do.
Conan racked his brain for a solution. Then it hit him. If they delayed stopping the timer until the very last second, they'd have 2 extra seconds of data to analyze, which might be enough to deduce the location of the other bombs.
But to get the bomb squad to listen, he'd need to use Mouri's name. Conan leaned close and whispered in Takagi's ear: "Officer Takagi, Uncle Mouri says…" He explained the plan quietly.
"So this is Detective Mouri's idea. If it's from him, then there's no problem." Takagi, blinded by his trust in Mouri Kogoro, believed Conan without hesitation. "I'll contact the bomb squad right away."
At Teitan High School, students sat with long faces, struggling with their exams. Liu A'dou glanced out the window, listening to the constant wail of sirens on the streets. He knew the bomber was probably still taunting the police.
'Really? Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and you still can't track down such a vile criminal?'
"Liu A'dou, it's exam time. Can you please focus?" the teacher finally snapped.
"Oh, I'm done." Liu A'dou stood up, handed over his paper, and said, "I'm handing it in early."
Without another word, he rushed out of the classroom. He wanted to check the rooftop for a better view.
The teacher blinked at the paper. A quick glance revealed no mistakes at all. This transfer student's grades were far too good. To hand in so early and still score this high? What he didn't know was that Liu A'dou was already sick of this exam set—he had memorized all the answers long ago. Mistakes were impossible.
From the rooftop, the school grounds looked different. In the corner of the playground and near the cafeteria, two oil drums had appeared.
Curious, Liu A'dou extended his senses. Inside, it was packed with explosives. Enough to blow Teitan High sky-high.
'Well, well. My childhood dream's finally about to come true. How did that song go again? "The sun shines bright, flowers smile at me. Little bird says: early, early, early, why do you carry that dynamite? I'm off to blow the school, teachers never know, pull the string and off I go, boom! The school's no more."'
Blowing up the school—the ultimate dream of every student. And now someone else had come to make it real.
Liu A'dou quickly scanned the area. He found more than 10 timed devices across the school. 'So the bomber saw me on TV in my school uniform, and that's why he planted this much dynamite at Teitan High? Looks like he really does hate me.'
Courtesy demands reciprocity. Since the bomber dared target him, Liu A'dou wasn't about to let this arrogant fool off easy.
He prepared to counterattack. Scanning the surroundings, he spotted a strange figure not far away, holding binoculars trained on the school. Beside him was a portable TV, tuned to live coverage of Tokyo Tower.
The bomber. A fool doomed to die, still wanting to witness his own crimes in person. Sitting at the perfect vantage point, the best seat in the house to watch Teitan High go up in flames.
It was almost too obvious. Liu A'dou barely felt like mocking him. The smug look on the man's face was enough to tell—he believed he had already won.
The bomber thought himself a genius, the only one clever enough to corner the police with such "brilliant" crimes. From today onward, Tokyo would be shrouded in grief, and the police would lose the power to protect its citizens.
At Tokyo Tower, the situation was still dire. Just a few minutes left. Life or death. Cowards or martyrs.
In truth, the bomber hoped the police would disarm the bombs. That way he could broadcast to the world that police cared only for their own lives, abandoning everyone else. Selfish cowards, that's all they were. The media would spread the truth, and grieving parents would become a force of fury against the police.
If his plan worked, thousands of high school students would die, leaving thousands of shattered families. The police's credibility would be destroyed beyond repair. The aftermath was unthinkable.
Time ticked closer. Would there be an explosion or silence? Even the live anchors were tense, reporting each new update as the information streamed in.