121: Chapter 121: The Loop Line Bombing Incident

"If that's the case, then the explosion just now... probably involved that Conan brat, didn't it?"

Fujino gazed at the lingering smoke cloud in the distance, murmuring to himself.

He then drove towards the explosion site.

The area around the explosion was already teeming with onlookers.

They chattered amongst themselves, but no one dared approach to investigate.

This was understandable.

For ordinary people without protagonist plot armor, their own lives were paramount.

Who knew if another explosion might occur?

Fujino parked the Ford Taurus on a nearby overpass overlooking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the scene.

Getting out of the car, he looked towards the direction of the explosion.

His eyes immediately fell upon a massive crater on the grassy riverbank.

A quick visual assessment with his glasses estimated the crater's diameter to be at least one meter.

Its depth exceeded five meters.

Wisps of black smoke still curled upwards from within the pit.

"Is this really the explosive effect achievable by a bomb the size of a pet carrier?"

Fujino stared at the enormous crater nearby, his expression turning peculiar.

In his memory, the object that exploded this time should have been a pet carrier.

But how could a pet carrier cause such devastation?

It didn't make sense!

Based on his knowledge of explosives, a crater this size would typically require a missile-grade bomb.

But... how could a bomb roughly the size of a pet carrier achieve such an effect?

Even C4 likely wouldn't have this kind of power, right?

Seriously, could an amateur like Teiji Moriya actually create a bomb of this caliber?

Truly 'Conan Science'.

Pondering this, Fujino scanned the surroundings.

Soon, near the crater caused by the explosion, he spotted a small figure.

That small figure had slammed hard against a nearby large tree.

He was currently unconscious.

Fortunately, there were no obvious external injuries.

Surviving an explosion of this magnitude without external wounds... he's probably fine.

"Seriously, what is this kid made of? Even an explosion like this didn't tear him limb from limb."

Fujino grumbled internally.

He then mentally activated the Soul Lotus.

Two system tasks... it seemed this time he'd have to split up.

He would handle apprehending Teiji Moriya, while the Soul Lotus would naturally take care of the bomb disposal.

Judging by the bomb disposal task's description,

Teiji Moriya had planted at least twenty bombs this time.

Twenty bombs... Although Fujino was confident in his own bomb disposal skills, further boosted by the system's thirty percent success rate enhancement,

the thought of disarming them still made his skin crawl.

Teiji Moriya, ultimately, was an amateur.

It was already impressive that the bombs he made hadn't detonated during construction.

Let alone disarming them...

Probably even Teiji Moriya himself wouldn't guarantee he could safely disarm them.

A task with such a high risk of turning into ash was naturally suited for the Soul Lotus.

With the [Soul Lotus Undying] skill, even if an accident occurred during disposal and it was blown up, it could still revive after a few days.

Meanwhile, Fujino residence.

Miyano Akemi, dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans, sat comfortably on the sofa, her attention focused on the television, seemingly engrossed in learning something.

"First, we need to... the fish head..."

The large plasma TV displayed a cooking show.

Fujino recognized the female host immediately – it was Okino Yoko.

"Fish head?"

Miyano Akemi murmured.

Suddenly, a wave of weakness washed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over her.

Her vision blackened, and she gradually lost consciousness, slumping onto the sofa.

Fujino shifted part of his consciousness into the Soul Lotus. Opening his eyes again, he saw the familiar room.

He slowly stood up from the sofa, looking down at his current body with a complex expression.

Hmm, this feeling was still a bit strange.

His original body still retained consciousness over there, yet this self here could freely control the Soul Lotus.

It felt like multitasking, like patting his head and rubbing his stomach simultaneously.

After briefly adapting to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this body, which felt like it had gained something yet lost something else,

Fujino Akemi – or rather, Soul Lotus Fujino – retrieved the Assassin's Robes from the pocket dimension and put them on. He then casually took out the nail clipper capable of cutting any wire.

It's bomb disposal time!

After donning the classic outfit, he first printed several Batman calling cards.

Then, he headed to the underground garage and stored the motorcycle in the pocket dimension.

Leaving the building, he walked slowly into a nearby alley, released the motorcycle again, and used the Kamen Rider charm to disguise it as the Batcycle.

Following the system's guidance, Soul Lotus Fujino headed straight for the Loop Line.

The Touto Loop Line, true to its name, formed a continuous loop around the entire Tokyo metropolitan area.

At a normal train speed, completing one circuit took 60-80 minutes. Searching for something specific without guidance would normally be extremely difficult.

However, Fujino's system task had already marked the bomb locations, making it hard not to find them.

Following the guidance, Soul Lotus Fujino quickly located the first bomb.

Before him was a device packed with explosives and powered by solar energy – a rather unusual type of bomb.

Honestly, Fujino had never encountered such a bomb before.

His knowledge books mentioned them but also detailed their drawbacks.

Namely, their applications were very niche.

Furthermore, due to their inherent characteristics, these bombs were extremely unstable and rarely used.

Relying on solar energy as a detonation condition...

What happens on a cloudy or rainy day? Wouldn't they all misfire?

Taking out the nail clippers, Fujino carefully began disarming the bomb, following the procedures stored in his memory.

Although this Soul Lotus body couldn't truly die,

Fujino preferred to avoid its destruction if possible.

After all, re-cultivating a Soul Lotus body was quite troublesome.

[Detected Host disarming bomb. Bomb Disposal Expert skill triggered: Increases Host's bomb disarming success probability by 30%.]

Even though he was currently controlling the Soul Lotus, the knowledge in his mind remained applicable.

Furthermore, system enhancements also worked on the Soul Lotus, although enhancement effects could only be active on one body at a time...

As the last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wire of the fifth bomb on the Loop Line was cut,

a system notification sounded in Fujino's ear:

[Detected Host disarmed one bomb. Rewarding +50 Bomb Disposal Expert Proficiency Points.]

[Current Bomb Disposal Expert Level: High-Level (250/1000)]

"250 proficiency points just from five bombs?"

Looking at the Bomb Disposal Expert profession, a smile gradually spread across Soul Lotus Fujino's face. "Looks like this time, I might be able to max out the Bomb Disposal Expert profession in one go."