Vroom—
Kudo Shinichi twisted the throttle of the police motorcycle to its limit, the wind whistling relentlessly in his ears.
He weaved through traffic at a near-frantic speed, heading straight for Beika Building.
At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind:
Faster! A little bit faster!
He had to save Ran before midnight!
The bomb's blueprint information flashed through his mind repeatedly.
Using the bomb disposal techniques he learned in Hawaii, he quickly figured out how to disarm the bomb Moriya Teiji had placed in the cinema.
When he finally arrived near Beika Building, the sight before him made his heart sink to rock bottom.
The once-bustling landmark was now shrouded in thick smoke and flames.
The fire caused by the bomb explosion was also very severe.
The sounds of fire trucks and ambulances rose and fell.
Firefighters, were busy spraying water to suppress the spreading flames while rescuing the injured.
A cordon had long been set up, isolating the anxious crowd and reporters outside.
After Kudo Shinichi braked the motorcycle, he didn't even have time to steady it before jumping off, pulling up the cordon, and rushing inside.
"Stop! You can't go in! It's very dangerous inside! There could be a secondary collapse at any moment!"
A firefighter covered in ash immediately stopped him, preventing him from entering.
"Let me in! I know the exact location of the bomb! If the bomb isn't disarmed, everyone trapped in the cinema will die!"
Kudo Shinichi shouted urgently, desperately trying to rush in.
The firefighter was startled for a moment but then shook his head even more resolutely.
"No! The structure inside is very unstable right now and could collapse at any moment! The police bomb disposal unit is already on its way, and I can't let ordinary citizens go in and risk their lives! Please trust us!"
"I am a member of the police bomb disposal unit, otherwise, I wouldn't be going in."
Kudo Shinichi told a white lie.
Although the firefighter was a bit confused, he thought it made sense—who would eagerly rush into a dangerous place—and no longer stopped him.
Kudo Shinichi then asked, "Has the exit to the cinema been cleared? The bomb is in the cinema! There's less than 40 minutes until the bomb explodes!"
The firefighter panicked upon hearing this and quickly said.
"The exit to the 5th-floor cinema was where the initial explosion was most severe. The bomb detonated at a critical load-bearing point, causing a large-scale chain collapse.
Not only the exit but also connected passages and some auditoriums were affected. The search and rescue team has confirmed the survivors' location, they are deep inside, but..."
The firefighter took a deep breath, his voice filled with frustration,
"Clearing these ruins requires extreme caution, a slight mistake could trigger a wider collapse. Heavy machine cannot get close, so we can only clear it little by little by hand... This will take time, at least 3 hours!"
"What?! I don't believe it! There must be a way!"
Kudo Shinichi only trusted what he saw with his own eyes. He stopped talking to the firefighter and, braving the acrid smoke, stumbled towards the 5th floor.
When he breathlessly rushed to the 5th-floor passage entrance, the sight before him completely shattered his last shred of hope.
The passage was completely blocked.
Huge concrete blocks, rebar skeletons, and various debris that had fallen from the ceiling completely jammed the once-spacious passage, piling up to the ceiling.
Several firefighters and search and rescue team members were clearing it, sweating profusely.
But the progress was agonizingly slow, every time a slightly larger piece of debris was moved, it could cause the piled-up material above to collapse.
Kudo Shinichi didn't hesitate. He rushed to the ruins and unhesitatingly joined the clearing team.
He moved the scorching rubble piece by piece, his hands quickly becoming raw and bleeding.
Sweat streamed down his forehead, blurring his vision, but he merely wiped it away haphazardly and continued to dig frantically.
But after not digging for long, Kudo Shinichi quickly realized that trying to rescue Ran by digging open a rescue passage was utterly impossible.
With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone again and dialed Ran's number.
Almost instantly, the call was connected.
"Shinichi, where are you now? Why... why are you never by my side during important moments? I'm so scared."
Ran's voice was tearful, expressing her grievances.
"Ran!"
Hearing her voice, Kudo Shinichi said, full of self-reproach.
"I'm here! I'm on the 5th floor of Beika Building right now! Outside the passage closest to you! But... the passage is completely blocked, and I can't get in..."
Hearing that Shinichi had come to her side, Ran's tears turned to laughter, "That's great, you won't suddenly disappear again this time, will you?"
Kudo Shinichi's heart ached as if pricked by a needle when he heard this.
The temporary antidote had a time limit.
Once the Kudo Shinichi experience card expired, he would turn back into Conan.
He couldn't make any promises.
"Ran, I've actually always been here, please believe me! I will definitely get you out this time! Calm down first and listen to me.
The crisis isn't over yet, there's still a powerful bomb in the cinema. Look behind the cinema screen and find it!"
"A bomb?"
Ran was clearly stunned for a moment, and the sound of Ran running came from the other end of the phone.
"Is that the metal box? I see numbers ticking on it! Is that the bomb?"
"Yes! That's it!"
Kudo Shinichi's spirits lifted, and he forced himself to calm down.
"Ran, listen to me! Only you can disarm it now! I'll tell you how! Tell me, what's on the bomb? How much time is left on the numbers?"
Ran took a deep breath, describing as calmly as possible.
"There are many, many wires! Red, blue, yellow, green... The numbers show... 28 minutes left!"
Only less than half an hour left?
Kudo Shinichi's heart immediately clenched, time was even more pressing than expected.
"Ran, don't be afraid! Listen carefully to me! I have the blueprint for this bomb. You open the bomb's cover as I instruct and cut the corresponding wires inside, and everything will be fine."
Kudo Shinichi patiently comforted her.
For the next twenty-odd minutes, both of them were fully focused.
Kudo Shinichi, referencing the blueprint and combining Ran's detailed descriptions, guided her step-by-step through the disarming operation.
His speaking speed was fast and steady, every instruction clear and precise.
At the same time, he didn't forget to try and soothe Ran's emotions, guiding her to overcome her fear.
"Okay... now carefully pull out that blue connector... Be careful not to touch the metal contacts next to it."
"Did you do it? Good, next, pull out that black safety pin next to the green wire... Slowly..."
Time flew by during the tense operation.
Each of Ran's responses, each successful operation, eased Kudo Shinichi's heartbeat a little.
Sweat soaked his shirt, but he was completely unaware.
"Last step, Ran!"
Kudo Shinichi saw the light of victory,
"Now cut that black wire from before, cut it, and the bomb will stop!"
"Black wire... I found it."
Ran's voice conveyed the excitement of relief,
"I'm cutting it, Shinichi!"
Click!
A clear sound of cutting wires came from the phone.
Kudo Shinichi let out a long breath.
Just as he thought the bomb had stopped,
Ran's tearful voice came from the other end of the phone. "Shinichi! The numbers! The numbers are still ticking! It hasn't stopped! And... and..."