22: Chapter 22: Bomb Expert

"Cough, cough... Anyway, enough about that."

Fujino interrupted quickly, seeing Sato Miwako's 'concerned big sister' expression directed at him.

He pulled a cassette tape, a folded piece of paper, and the photos of the musical score from his pocket. He handed them to Inspector Megure.

"This is the evidence I gathered on Moonlight Island."

"It clearly implicates the island's wealthiest resident, Kawashima Hideo; the mayor, Kuroiwa Tatsuji; the mayor's secretary, Hirata Kazuaki; Nishimoto Ken, who supposedly went crazy and quit the business two years ago; and another man, Kameyama Isamu, who's already deceased, in a drug trafficking ring."

"It also includes the suicide note of Aso Keiji, who was murdered twelve years ago because he refused to smuggle drugs for them."

"Right!"

Inspector Megure accepted the evidence, a pang of bitterness hitting him.

When did the police become so reliant on frail high school kids...?

Suddenly, the evidence felt incredibly heavy, knowing the risks this young man had taken.

He nodded firmly.

"Rest assured, Fujino-kun, the police will not allow these criminals to remain at large!"

He keyed his radio.

"Inform Superintendent Matsumoto: evidence secured, informant safe. All units outside the cordon, proceed to enter the island and provide support!"

"Um..."

Asai Seiji spoke up hesitantly.

"I know where all of them live. If it helps, please let me guide you!"

"You are...?"

Megure looked quizzically at Seiji, whose voice was male but appearance was female.

Is he... no, wait, the voice...?

"Ahem."

Fujino coughed again, making the introduction.

"This is Asai Seiji, the son of Aso Keiji, who was murdered by that group twelve years ago."

"Son?"

Megure frowned, still confused.

Fujino nodded meaningfully.

"Two years ago, he disguised himself as a female doctor and infiltrated Moonlight Island to investigate his father's death... He's the one who hired me for this case."

"I see."

Megure processed this for a moment.

"In that case, Asai-san, please lead the way!"

With the evidence handed over, Fujino's direct involvement was essentially over.

Asai Seiji would guide the police, and the police would make the arrests.

There was no need for Fujino to tag along; staying behind minimized risk.

Besides, what use was a sick detective in a potentially dangerous raid?

Led ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by 'Doctor' Asai, hundreds of heavily armed police officers swarmed the island, converging on several luxurious residences.

The island residents, unaccustomed to such commotion and thinking war had broken out, locked their doors and windows, terrified to peek outside.

The massive operation continued well into the evening. The final haul? Narcotics Division 4 was ecstatic. The sheer volume of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠drugs seized on Moonlight Island alone was enough to meet their performance quotas for the entire year. All officers involved received commendations for participating in a major bust.

Thanks to Fujino setting the wheels in motion, the twelve-year-old cold case was finally solved. As night fell once more, the series of dark events on Moonlight Island finally drew to a close.

[Congratulations Host! Moonlight Island Sonata Case Complete! Detective Reputation +100]

[Special Objective Complete! Bonus Rewards and Bounty Distributed.]

That Night, The sea breeze whipped across the deck of the patrol boat transporting the arrested criminals back to Tokyo.

Fujino sat listening to the satisfying chime of system notifications, a deep sense of accomplishment washing over him.

The case bounty plus Seiji's commission fee netted him a cool 1.5 million yen! All earned in less than two days.

But the money wasn't the real prize. The Random Profession Orb – that was the truly valuable reward! Something you couldn't guarantee even with ten million yen worth of pulls.

Excited, Fujino opened his system inventory. His eyes immediately locked onto the new orb icon.

[Random Profession Orb: Grants one randomly selected Profession.]

He tapped it without hesitation.

A flash of purple light erupted from the orb.

A moment later, the system announced:

[Congratulations Host! Profession Acquired: Bomb Expert!]

"Bomb Expert?"

Fujino frowned, muttering the name, then pulled up his Profession screen.

[New Sub-Class Added:]

Bomb Expert (Rank: Basic)

(100 Proficiency needed for next Rank Up)

[New Class Skills:]

Defusal Expert (Basic): +10% Bomb Defusal Success Rate (Note: Bonus does not stack on the same bomb.)

Bomb Crafting Expert (Basic): +10% Bomb Creation Success Rate (Note: Bonus does not stack when crafting the same bomb type.)

Bomb Expert... exactly what it sounds like.

Skills related to making and disarming bombs. The crafting part seemed less useful for him (reducing duds and accidental self-detonation), but the defusal skill? That was gold.

Disarming bombs was high-stakes.

Succeed, you're covered in soot. Fail, you become soot.

In the Conan-verse, bomb threats were practically a weekly occurrence. A 10% boost to success rate could literally be a lifesaver.

Of course,

Fujino mused,

first I actually need to learn how to disarm a bomb...

Shaking off that thought, Fujino's gaze drifted back to the gacha screen. With 1.5 million newly acquired yen burning a hole in his virtual pocket, the urge to pull was irresistible.

Nine hundred fifty thousand. Let's go!

Ten-pull!

[Congratulations Host! Rewards Acquired:

100,000 Yen Cash x2,

Large Nail Clippers (Blue Rarity) x1,

Temporary Stat Boost Card (Effect: Strength; Duration: 1 min) x2,

Delicious Cream Pudding x1,

Disguise Card (Effect: Transform into any appearance; Duration: 10 mins) x2,

Compendium of Bomb Knowledge x1,

Vision Enhancement Glasses (Blue Rarity) x1]

More Blue rarity crap?!

Fujino's eye twitched. His burgeoning good mood evaporated, replaced by familiar gacha rage.

His cold even felt like it was getting worse out of sheer frustration.

This damn system! Refusing to give me anything good!

Sighing, he forced himself to examine the new, unfamiliar items.

[Large Nail Clippers: Can cut through any electrical wire. Cannot cut anything else.]

[Disguise Card: Allows user to temporarily assume any desired physical appearance. Please refrain from using for creepy purposes.]

[Vision Enhancement Glasses: Wearing these grants +50% Perception and Reaction Speed, and significantly improves eyesight. Includes recording and magnification features. Again, please refrain from using for perverted purposes.]

"Who would use this stuff for perverted things?!"

Fujino scoffed internally, thoroughly insulted by the system's warnings.