Chapter 201: I'll Be the Hostage
The two henchmen reacted incredibly quickly, each reaching for their lower backs—it was obvious what they were going for.
However, it was too late to draw their guns. Conan had already exerted his strength, and the bucket flew out with a "bang."
The two criminals' eyes widened in disbelief at how a child could kick such a heavy metal bucket without getting hurt. They only had time to raise their hands to protect their faces.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two sounds rang out in succession, followed by the clanging of the bucket hitting the ground.
The first henchman was thrown into the air by the force, spinning once before collapsing to the ground.
The second henchman fared slightly better, as his companion had absorbed most of the impact, but he was still knocked unconscious.
"This toy is interesting." Ai Haibara rested her chin on her hand, not looking at Silver Fox, but focusing all her attention on Conan's shoes.
She'd wondered why these shoes were so bulky—it turned out they were a piece of technology.
It seemed Professor Agasa's research capabilities were quite impressive. Perhaps she could discuss the research on APTX 4869 with him later.
Speaking of which, besides the research materials she'd just given to her sister, she'd also accidentally included a research document on a disk her sister had sent her two years ago, which had then been mistakenly sent back.
Maybe she could look for it now. She couldn't start researching from scratch.
As for her recent research results, there was nothing she could do. Her sister was nowhere to be found, and she had no idea where the document was.
She could only look for the research materials from two years ago. Although the data was outdated, it was still easier than starting from scratch.
"Conan is amazing!" Ayumi exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at him adoringly.
She already liked Conan because of his intelligence, and this scene completely won her over.
Smart and brave—they could be childhood friends from now on and get married in a decade or so.
Conan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He'd just been lucky in that situation.
"It's alright. Yuji, your brother should be upstairs. Let's go check."
Conan glanced at the security monitor and saw a young man on the third floor whose appearance perfectly matched the photo provided by their client, Hase Yuji—it was definitely his brother.
This person had indeed been kidnapped to create the master plates of Natsume Soseki's portrait for the counterfeit money gang.
"Okay!"
Hase Yuji was surprisingly resilient. He'd been terrified moments ago, but seeing Conan and Ai Haibara bravely deal with the three criminals, he immediately recovered and ran toward the third floor.
While still feeling excited, he decided to promote the Detective Boys when he got back to school—they were amazing!
Ai Haibara picked up the pistol from the ground, weighed it in her hand, and then opened the magazine.
"Sufficient ammunition. Looks like they have a source for firearms."
She then walked over to the other three and found pistols on each of them.
Conan glanced at them, then opened his backpack and had Ai Haibara put the pistols inside first.
The police hadn't arrived yet, and the weapons needed to be secured since he didn't know when these people would wake up.
"Let's go up and take a look."
Conan left the second-floor room and headed straight to the third floor.
The third floor was dimly lit. Upon entering, he saw a long table covered with bottles and jars.
There were also several items that looked like steel plates on the table—these should be the master plates.
Conan took a closer look and realized they were all inks for making banknotes.
Besides engraving the master plates, they were also adjusting the colors of the banknotes. It looked very professional.
"Did you guys save me?" After talking with his little brother, Hase Yuta looked at Conan and the four others behind him with surprise and disbelief.
This was incredible!
Five kids had actually subdued four criminals.
Even manga wouldn't dare write something like this. You'd probably only see this kind of plot in Kamen Rider.
"It was Conan and Ai!"
Ayumi was incredibly excited, as if she were the one who had subdued the counterfeit money gang, constantly boasting to Hase Yuta.
"Amazing. I don't know how to thank you enough." Hase Yuta scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. He hadn't expected that he would be rescued by these kids instead of the police.
Reality and expectation were a bit jarring, even a little surreal.
"Since you're kids, I'll give each of you a limited-edition Kamen Rider collector's card—"
Hase Yuta himself loved Kamen Rider and had a collection of limited-edition cards. Normally, he wouldn't give them away, but the situation was different.
"Ah—brother, I want one too! You didn't give me one when I asked you before!"
"Okay, Yuji gets one too."
Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi's eyes lit up. Suddenly, they felt that the danger they'd encountered was nothing. Compared to getting a Kamen Rider collector's card, the suffering was bearable.
If possible, let's do this a few more times!
As long as we can get the collector's cards, no danger is too great!!!
Conan naturally couldn't hear the three kids' thoughts, or he would be furious enough to cough blood.
He'd succeeded this time by sheer luck, but next time might be different.
"Hey, shouldn't we go downstairs?" Ai Haibara walked to Conan's side and poked his arm. "Those counterfeiters might wake up at any time. Let's go downstairs and inform the police."
"Right." Conan nodded and waved to the others. "Let's get out of here quickly and report the situation to the police station."
His performance had won everyone over. No one voiced any objection, not even Hase Yuta, who nodded in agreement.
He didn't want to stay there any longer either. Besides sketching Natsume Soseki, he hadn't done anything else, and now even seeing a portrait of Natsume Soseki made him want to vomit.
Thankfully, Anya wasn't there, or she would have fainted from anger. Conan's actions had completely ruined his carefully cultivated relationships with the Detective Boys.
Second floor.
Kijima, the large man in black who had been shot in the neck by Conan, slowly got up.
He touched the needle-like pain in his neck and gritted his teeth. "That hurts."
"What happened?" Kijima took a few steps, wanting to check the security monitor, but suddenly tripped over something.
"Huh?" Kijima looked down, still groggy from just waking up, and suddenly saw something dark at his feet. He instinctively kicked it.
The dark object rolled back two meters.
"Ah!"
It was Silver Fox who had been kicked.
She was kicked in the exact spot where Ai Haibara had injected the tranquilizer, and she was instantly awakened by the pain.
Kijima was jolted fully awake by her pitiful scream. He immediately realized what had happened. "Isn't this our boss? Why is she lying here?"
"Boss, you'll catch a cold sleeping on the floor."
At this point, he hadn't quite grasped the full situation yet, only thinking that she was probably too tired and resting.
Silver Fox covered her thigh with one hand and her head with the other, shaking her head. She felt lightheaded and her limbs were weak.
Kijima had to help her stand up. Once she was on her feet, she remembered that several uninvited guests had broken into the newspaper office.
She looked around the room, finally fixing her gaze on the security monitor.
"Idiot, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and go to the third floor and capture all those brats.
And that Hase Yuta—restrain him, don't let him escape."
Only then did Kijima realize what was happening. He noticed his two companions lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. He glanced at the security monitor and hurriedly rushed upstairs.
Conan's tranquilizer dart was relatively weak, and Kijima had fully recovered by this time.
Silver Fox, however, had been injected by Ai Haibara using a more powerful device. The tranquilizer was several times stronger than what Kijima had received. She could only remain conscious but was too weak to stand.
Without Kijima's support, she collapsed again.
"What's that sound?" Conan, preparing to go downstairs, suddenly heard a noise from below and tensed up.
Could it be that those people had woken up?
An ominous premonition surged in Conan's heart. Before he could formulate a plan, Kijima pushed open the door to the third-floor room.
"Heh heh, Hase Yuta, you thought you could leave?"
Kijima's eyes flashed with malice as he brandished a rope, causing everyone in the room to back away.
"Damn it! He's awake!"
Conan was frustrated with himself. He should have tied them all up.
He'd only come up to check on things because the police station was nearby, but he hadn't expected the large man in black to wake up so quickly.
It was all his fault.
Considering that most of the tranquilizer darts were used on Uncle Kogoro, and to prevent him from being hit too many times and causing health problems, he'd specifically asked Professor Agasa to reduce the potency.
It seemed he'd have to ask Professor Agasa to increase the strength when they got back.
After all, this gadget wasn't exclusive to Uncle Kogoro, and the current situation was embarrassing.
There was nothing in the room that could be used as a projectile. The only thing he could kick was the metal plate on the table.
But that plate was too far away. It would take enough time for the large man in black to grab someone as a hostage.
"Squat down and don't move, or I won't be responsible for what happens!"
Kijima grabbed Ayumi, who was closest to him, and loosely wrapped the rope around her neck, his threat obvious.
He'd also realized that these children were not ordinary. He might have been ambushed before. Now he had a human shield, and even if there was any attack, he could use the little girl to block it.
Conan's expression darkened, and he glanced subtly at Ai Haibara.
Ai Haibara had her hands in her pockets, her expression equally grim.
Professor Agasa had only prepared one tranquilizer dart for her, which she'd just used on the woman in black, leaving her defenseless.
Why hadn't the police arrived yet?
This was the first time Conan had so desperately wanted the police to arrive quickly.
This time was different. Without the police, the seven of them were likely in grave danger.
Thankfully, Anya hadn't come up, or there would have been eight of them.
Hmm?
He suddenly paused, glancing behind Kijima before returning to normal.
"Uncle, let Ayumi go. I'll be the hostage." Conan raised his hands, indicating he wouldn't resist, and slowly walked toward the large man in black.
Kijima was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected this child to have such courage.
(End of Chapter)
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