123: Chapter 123: Indeed, I Don't Understand this World of Psychopaths

"The remaining bombs could destroy an entire building?!"

"That's just a preliminary estimate. The actual effect could be far greater than destroying a single building."

Megure's expression was grave.

"We're interrogating Teiji Moriya now, but the madman refuses to say anything..."

Conan looked thoughtful.

Three-quarters of the bombs remaining?

Damn it!

Where could that madman Teiji Moriya have hidden those bombs?!

There are absolutely no clues!

Wait, since the bombs were disarmed by that guy who said 'who I am is not important'...

Maybe that guy knows something...

"Speaking of which, Inspector Megure, who exactly caught Teiji Moriya and disarmed those bombs?"

Conan emerged from his thoughts.

"Perhaps the person who caught Teiji Moriya might know something."

"That's what we thought too, but we've been investigating his identity for a long time now with absolutely no leads."

A trace of frustration appeared on Megure's plump face.

Truthfully, their pursuit of this mysterious figure wasn't new.

They had tried baiting him once before.

But the result was that the bait itself was nearly taken by the target...

Fortunately, the target wasn't some vicious criminal.

Otherwise, Sato Miwako might have met a tragic end.

"Does the MPD have any clues about him?!" Conan latched onto the key point.

"All we know is that he operates extensively in Beika Town, likes to wear a Batman mask, and appears at night. Beyond that, nothing."

Conan looked astonished. "Beika Batman?"

"You've heard of him too, Conan-kun?"

"I heard about that strange person from my classmates," Conan nodded.

He had indeed heard the name Beika Batman.

From the neighborhood kids.

Rumor had it, he was a strange person who appeared at night, dressed as Batman, and dealt out vigilante justice to criminals.

The Beika Batman's targets were mostly robbers and molesters.

As a result, he enjoyed considerable popularity among high school girls, adult women, and elementary school students.

A true friend to women!

Even Ayumi was a fan of his.

Near Beika City Hall.

Fujino walked slowly towards the brightly lit Beika City Hall building.

"Wait, this slight asymmetry counts as asymmetrical?"

Shaking his head, he ambled over to a nearby bench and sat down.

He then focused his consciousness on Fujino Akemi, who was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠currently inside Beika City Hall.

At this moment, Fujino Akemi, or rather, Soul Lotus Fujino, clad in the Assassin's Robes, moved through the crowd.

Fujino Akemi's body was remarkably agile. After deftly weaving through the surrounding people, she arrived beside a trash can, as indicated by the system task.

"A trash can?"

Fujino's expression turned strange. After a brief internal struggle, he silently put on gloves and retrieved the bomb from within the bin.

It was a simple timer-triggered device, easy to disarm – just cut the wire connected to the detonator.

Fujino took out the nail clippers. The moment the clipper blades touched the wire, it was cleanly severed in the physical sense.

[Congratulations Host for disarming one bomb. System rewarding +50 Bomb Disposal Expert Proficiency Points.]

The bomb disposal proceeded smoothly.

The bomb disposal skill didn't even need to trigger...

In fact, most of the bombs Teiji Moriya planted in the building and his residence were simple combinations of timers, detonators, and explosives.

After all, meticulously assembling so many bombs would be impractical.

All the bombs were eventually disarmed, leaving only the last one.

That large bomb was planted in the movie theater.

Its overall construction was interesting, different from all the previous bombs.

As if it had been carefully and cleverly designed.

But it was still manageable.

For Fujino, with his knowledge of explosives, it was just a slightly more difficult large bomb.

Soon, all the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bombs hidden within Beika City Hall were successfully disarmed.

Fujino thoroughly maxed out his Bomb Disposal Expert proficiency.

While ensuring there was still room for his motorcycle in the pocket dimension, he also quietly pocketed a large quantity of explosives and several disarmed detonators.

[Congratulations Host for completing Detective Profession Task: Serial Bombing Case. System Task Reward: 1,000,000 Yen Distributed. +200 Detective Reputation Distributed.]

[Congratulations Host for completing Bomb Disposal Expert Profession Task: Serial Bomb Disposal. System Task Reward: 1,000,000 Yen Distributed. +200 Proficiency Points Distributed.]

[Congratulations Host! Bomb Disposal Expert Level Up! Current Level: Top-Tier]

[Current Balance: 6,660,000 Yen]

"Top-Tier?"

Fujino opened the profession interface: [Bomb Disposal Expert: Top-Tier (Breakthrough requires 3,000,000 Yen)]

"Three million yen?"

Fujino stared at the prominent three-million-yen requirement, pinching the bridge of his nose.

For someone currently holding a fortune of 6.6 million yen, three million wasn't a small amount.

But it wasn't insignificant either.

Keep in mind, three million yen was roughly the annual salary of an average Japanese office worker.

Fujino, who earned money quickly, didn't have much perspective on this.

But for an ordinary person, this was definitely a huge sum!

Something to consider carefully...

"Fujino-senpai?"

Nearby, Ran, who happened to be passing by, noticed Fujino lying on the bench, seemingly resting with his eyes closed.

Carrying a gift bag, she walked over and asked curiously, "Senpai, are you here to watch a movie too?"

"A movie?"

Fujino opened his eyes, slightly surprised to see Ran.

After a moment, Fujino collected himself and thought briefly.

"Yes, I came to watch a movie."

Ran guessed, "Could it be Senpai is also here to see 'Legend of the Red Thread'?"

Fujino paused for a moment. "'Einstein's Days of Glory and Suffering'."

"Eh?"

Ran looked stunned. "Senpai, you like watching that kind of movie?"

Ran looked Fujino up and down.

Honestly, Fujino liking that genre of film was quite unexpected.

She remembered Sonoko mentioning it was supposed to be a very boring movie.

Unless...

Suddenly, realization dawned on Ran, and a knowing, almost motherly smile spread across her face.

Fujino-senpai must be here on a date with a girl!

"Mhm."

Fujino, oblivious to Ran's peculiar expression, simply nodded in response.

'Einstein's Days of Glory and Suffering' was the movie he happened to glimpse while disarming a bomb in the screening room using the Soul Lotus.

"By the way, Senpai, have you seen Shinichi?"

Ran glanced at her wristwatch. "I arranged to meet him to watch the movie. There's less than an hour until it starts..."

"Kudo Shinichi?"

Fujino shook his head definitively.

"I've been sitting here for half an hour, haven't seen him."

"Honestly... he promised me before,"

Ran looked somewhat dejected.

"Is he going to stand me up again?"